On this pre-Christmas edition of The Editors, Rich is joined by Michael, Maddy, and Phil. During the course of their discussion, our panelists cover the recent declaration by the Marines that, for fear of misgendering someone, they may be dropping the terms “sir” and “ma’am.” Compounding this is a new publication from a Stanford University committee whose aim is “the elimination of harmful language.” The list is extensive and absurd, but Maddy points out that the committee can get away with this because of general complacency by the public.
“You’ve just described there that idea that, ‘Oh, what does it matter? It’s just some overly zealous students, or it’s just some fringe activists who go a bit too far. Just calm down. It’s not that big a deal.’ Well, if that’s true, why do they devote so much time to it?” Maddy continues, “The reason they devote so much time to it is because language really does change how people think. Language does win or lose arguments — political arguments, cultural arguments. A great example of that of course is the transgender issue and conservatives being bullied or persuaded not to use precise language.”
She also drives home the harm this does to our writing, because this “encourages really clumsy clunky language. So ‘immigrant’ you’re supposed to replace with ‘person who has immigrated.’ Well, a good principle in writing is that you don’t use more words than you have to, so out goes good writing. And then also just an ability to have a sense of humor is gone as well.”
Michael also finds this blow to writing distressing and “an attempt to take the vividness out and the life out of language. Language is supposed to — when it’s used well — it is supposed to shake you up. I mean, we spend all day trying to craft memorable phrases. And I actually think that behind all of this is not just progressive gobbledygook and this utopian vision of equality. There’s a kind of resignation from a life that has any kind of texture or adventure in it, and that’s what I find most distressing about it.”
Join our panelists for the rest of this discussion, as well as their views on the recently passed omnibus bill and much more.