critical discourse analysis and the abuse of language by our government

In his introduction, Ronald Wardhaugh writes about critical discourse analysis. "This work focuses on how language is used to exercise and preserve power and privilege in society, how it buttresses social institutions, and how even those who suffer as a consequence fail to realize how many things that appear to be 'natural' and 'normal' are not at all so." It was argued by Benjamin Lee Whorf that human beings created language and that in turn, created societies with common cultures and that it is language which helps to define our culture, which in turn is a reflection of us. Essentially, we create our own reality and we express that reality in our language. However, when certain people abuse the use of language, as Wardhaugh writes, "power relations in societ determine who gets to say what and who gets to write what." they do so by abusing our faith and certainty in the very words they use against us.

George Lakoff writes about the use of words by politicians extensively in Moral Politics. Although Lakoff writes more about the use of language as a political tool; as a means to gain a politically favorable end, it can be argued that if that end is arrived at by deceitful use of language, then those words were abused. That is, we the listeners had our knowledge of and faith in those words abused. As a whole, I believe people when they tell me something. Unless given to think otherwise, I am not immediately suspicious of the things that people tell me. I trust the words they use to represent the truth. But when those words have more than a double-meaning, when they actually mean something else entirely; the exact opposite, then I have had my faith and my certitude in those words and my understanding of them undermined. And more than that, deliberately so in order that the person who did this may gain an advantage.

Faith and certainty are two buzz-words used a lot by Republicans and especially George W Bush and his administration (so are morals, values and responsibility, but discussing those would take more than I have time for) However, on a seemingly daily basis, the Bush administration abuses these two basic items of language, and language is considered to be the cornerstone of humanity. By degrading faith in the ability of language to tell the truth, the Bush administration is essentially creating a new lexicon from an existing language. Like the world in which Alice finds herself on the other side of her looking-glass, it appears as though our world is beginning to mirror a backwards-front, upside-down world where truths are lies, nobody does anything wrong and apologies are not necessary because mistakes are never made. In this world, everyone agrees with one another, there is no dissent and no differing opinion is ever given. This is a terrible reality, more horrifying than any imagined by Lewis or Lovecraft for that matter.

Since we are the creators of our language, which in turn creates our culture, then we are either content with this new reality or we need to take back our language from those who twist it against us.