As George Orwell observed in 1946, most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way. In “Politics and the English Language,” he sought to persuade readers that something could and should be done about it. Today most readers would agree, though we are divided on the solution.
For some, the answer is insisting on clarity and precision in language. For others, the solution is redefining and introducing terms to eliminate inequities. This battle is fought not only in government buildings but especially in places where, as Bill Ayers observed in 2012, activists have “absolute access”: communities and schools.
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