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August 31, 2010
inartful phrasing or hidden meaning?
As the idea of government health care becomes ever more unpopular with the taxpayers, the federal government's top health care bureaucrat has issued a statement which is at least insensitive, and (in light of the word used) quite possibly inflammatory: As a widely-watched survey shows support for the new health care reform law slipping, the leader in the reform effort says the administration has "a lot of reeducation to do" to reverse the trend.I cannot think of a more inappropriate choice of words than to characterize government health care opponents as in need of "reeducation." The word has several definitions: * A euphemism for Brainwashing, efforts aimed at instilling certain beliefs in people against their willI think we can rule out the last three meanings, which leaves the first two. "Reeducation" is a Marxist phrase, and for someone to use such a phrase in the context of opponents of socialism is, well, sinister. Couldn't she have said they are in need of "education"? While that would have been condescending (as it implies that people who dissent are ignorant), at least it doesn't have the unmistakable totalitarian ring that "reeducation" does. Of course, this may be a job pitch of some sort. We already have a Department of Education (headed by a man called the Education Czar); perhaps the next step is the creation of a Department of Reeducation, with a Reeducation Czar commanding an army of reeducrats. But I guess that's not in the Constitution, so we don't have to worry that they'd ever do such a thing. posted by Eric on 08.31.10 at 05:23 PM |
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