The Semantics of Tyranny

One day, many years ago, I was complaining to one of my lawyer friends* about the convoluted wording of a particular document, and I wondered why lawyers couldn't just speak and write in plain English. He explained that lawyers write in this way because every word and phrase they use has a precise, legally-understood-and-agreed-upon meaning that has been settled through decades of litigation and court rulings; thus, I should be happy for the semantic protection that judicial Sanskrit provides through precise definition of terms. 

That was then, this is now.

The legal profession has hardly covered itself in glory as it tries to deal with the challenge of a president and an administration willing (and eager) to push the boundaries of what can be considered ethical, moral, legal, and Constitutional ... it's Left-Cheek Ass Clown Award last Friday was richly deserved, and there's no need to plow that field again. Today, I want to talk about its torture of the language ... about the semantics of tyranny.

Der Furor's Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security are fighting bitterly to keep from having to repatriate Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a man they admit was mistakenly arrested and deported to a prison in El Salvador. 

The State Department relies on the language of diplomacy to claim helplessness because Mr Abrego Garcia is "in the custody of a sovereign nation," unwilling to say "we're paying a tinpot dictator six million dollars to warehouse people we don't like." 

The Justice Department quibbles over the meanings of "facilitate" and "effectuate" as it semantically fences with courts unable to simply say, "you admit you effed up, so bring the unjustly imprisoned man home RIGHT NOW." 

Deputy Assistant to the President and "Counterterrorism Czar" Sebastian Gorka says anyone advocating for due process for Mr. Abrego Garcia could be viewed as "aiding and abetting a terrorist" and be federally charged. 

The "Department of Government Efficiency" boasts of eliminating billions of dollars in fraud and waste, but is unable to provide documentary evidence of anything remotely close to that number. It advertises the termination of wasteful contracts, but does not define why they were wasteful.

The Department of Health and Human Services claims to be making America Healthy again, while pursuing policies that actively undermine public health. 

Der Furor and the Department of State have defined the word person as used in the Constitution to mean "United States Citizen." Curiously, the original text of the Constitution (as signed in 1789) does not include the word citizen. That word does not appear until the adoption of the 14th Amendment, which states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." And your government is now attempting to remove that guarantee of birthright citizenship.

I love language and words. But I draw the line at the weaponization of words - the semantics of tyranny - as an increasingly authoritarian government tortures the language until it confesses a message that runs counter to everything our country used to stand for. This marvelously framed photo of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt - a lady wholly unencumbered by honesty and accuracy - pretty much sums things up. 

Have a good day, and remember that words matter. When this administration speaks, listen for what it's really saying.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* There are one or two that I still respect, despite my general detestation of lawyers.