Kathleen's Latest Cause: S.O.L. or we will soon be S.O.L.

My last post was about Barbie's birthday. Today I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. Variety, thy name is Woman!

I stand before you today waving a rag over my head. Newspaper, that is. You thought I meant something else? (For me that other rag is so yesterday.) My local newspaper has filed Chapter 11. The paper has shrunk in more ways than one, but I continue to subscribe. It's my meager effort to support the Fourth Estate. Without the press our society is doomed. Without responsible journalism, the press is doomed.

My beef du jour has to do with language. I'm so tired of the press's willingness to use euphemistic terms fed to them by the people and institutions they're supposed to be "keeping honest" that I'm screaming "S.O.L!" Save Our Language! And, no, I don't think we need to save English from other languages. English is a polyglot language that has welcomed all comers since the Roman invasion. So forget the "English Only" movement. That's much ado about much ado. But save us from the insidious euphemism. Save us from Doublespeak. Save us from lazy journalism.

We're wordsmiths here. We won the right to use the word penis instead of manhood, which does not mean penis. Okay, in the old B.P. days we made sure readers understood what we were talking about. But I'm not sure this new crop of journalists is doing even that much when they regurgitate the terms their sources supply. Terms like "collateral damage" (civilians killed), "de-populate" (kill off the animals in a given area), "extraordinary rendition" (kidnapping). Here's a good one: "biosolids" (feces). And how about "public diplomacy"? That's propaganda, pure and simple.

Back in the day, euphemisms were mostly used as a matter of courtesy, often when talking about bodily functions, including sex. Silly or not, the idea was to avoid offense. Most of us know that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Most of us know that had the North Dakota legislature succeeded in changing the state's name to Dakota back in the 1980's they would not have changed the weather. So no harm done.

But when euphemisms become the language of the press, we're in big trouble. When "talking points" full of terms conceived to confuse and desensitize the public are repeated ad nauseum by reporters, we're no longer getting the news. More and more, euphemistic terms serve to obfuscate, to keep the public in the dark. And just who is served? Not the people. Certainly not in a democracy.

Remember when we were taught that propaganda was the province of advertisers and communist or fascist governments? In the USA we had a free press, and we learned what that meant and why it was important and how a news story was set up and how to check facts and compare sources. I'm beginning to wonder what kind of training journalists are getting these days. Once upon a time they were trained to avoid euphemisms, to challenge for truth, to get the facts upon which we might base honest public discourse. Lately we're hearing riduculous terms like "toxic assets." Huh? This is no time for oxymorons. Are we talking about bad debts? Why can't you say bad debts?

I miss George Carlin. I loved his riffs on language. He could be at once funny and sobering. He talked about the evolution of a concept we seem to find increasingly difficult to be honest about. For the WWI era it was shell shock. Pretty graphic. By WWII it became battle fatigue. For Vietnam vets it was post traumatic stress disorder. And now--I don't remember whether he ended up with this--we're down to PTSD. Reduced to an initialism.

I think we went overboard on "political correctness," but maybe that's just me. I think we need newspapers. We need reporters covering stories and events that matter and practicing ethical journalism, which means tossing out the talking points filled with terminology designed to shape public thinking. How do you get your news? Who does a good job of reporting it? What's your favorite outrageous euphemism?

And now for a little Spring in my step. It's been years since I grew anything edible in my garden besides herbs, but this year I'm doing a couple of raised beds. My Indian cowboy is putting them together as we speak. Gardener's Supply has a "Grow What You Eat" challenge going on their web site. I signed up. They also have several small plot plans and a neat tool you can use to come up with your own plan. Check it out. I'll take pictures and report back. Anyone care to join in? Victory gardens all around!