Shout Bits has often fulminated on the misuse of words by political operatives. The power of words should be respected because words can paint the libertarian individualist movement with a broad and unflattering brush. Smearing anyone who disagrees with Pres. Obama as a racist works, and using the leftist’s lexicon enables the sleaze. Most people do not pay attention to politics enough to know the difference between a racist and someone who just cries a lot, so pejoratives and the tone of discourse are the basis for their views. This entry seeks to fight collectivists hiding in the dark of their own words by encouraging writers on the side of freedom to be careful with their words.
Stop using ‘Mainstream Media’ or ‘MSM’ to describe leftist media outlets. When bashing the obvious biases in news outlets like NBC, MSNBC, Newsweek, and the New York Times, commentators often use the MSM label. Why give these leftists the credit? John Steward loves to bash Glenn Beck, but Mr. Beck’s audience is about 5 times as big as Stewart’s. The Wall Street Journal has higher circulation than The New York Times, and Fox News has more viewers at 3AM than does CNN during primetime. Shout Bits uses ‘Old Time Media,’ or OTM, instead of MSM because it better describes the OTM’s failing chokehold on information and perspective. The mainstream of the US looks more like independent bloggers than The New York Times‘s far left editorial page.
Stop calling leftists ‘liberals.’ Leftists, ne liberals, hijacked this term because socialist lost its ring. Liberalism means placing a value on individual freedom. Liberals are against collectivism and government control. Freedman, Hayek, and von Mises were liberals, yet somehow Spkr. Pelosi now owns the word. Likewise progressives are really collectivists. It will be a long time before free market individualists can reclaim ‘liberal,’ but the process starts by denying it to Pelosi. Obama, Pelosi, and Sen. Reid by any objective measure are socialists, leftists, collectivists, and statists. Stop rewarding their corruption by calling them liberals.
Stop calling libertarians and other freedom lovers ‘conservatives.’ The great F. A. Hayek wrote a famous article Why I Am Not A Conservative on this topic. Conservatives are by definition against change. The conservative moniker plays to the hands of leftists because it paints conservatives as the party of ‘no.’ No to change and progress. In fact, socialist nations like the Soviet Union, North Korea, and the Eastern Block are famous for slow change and advancement. Individualism and capitalism lights the fire of change through innovation and wealth creation. Some members of the GOP are indeed conservatives, but those who want to restore prosperity and economic growth to the US are not. Conservative is not the same as libertarian, individualist, freedom loving, religious, or even patriotic.
Stop calling Nazis ‘right wing.’ Nut jobs on MSNBC regularly compare their ideological enemies to the Nazi party, and associating Nazis with the right wing enables the smear. The Nazi’s were socialists, as their very name proves. When not waging war against Europe, the Nazi’s also socialized industry, medicine, and the social order. Fascism is leftist; it is collectivist. ‘Right wing’ refers to a balance of power in the French Revolution, not to the socialist takeover of Germany. Calling Nazis right wing hands a sword to those who want to paint non-Dems as extremist.
Stop calling libertines ‘libertarians.’ ‘Libertarian’ is a substitute for the misappropriated ‘liberal,’ which argues for maximum individualism and freedom with personal responsibility being the first law. Many people like Bill Maher like to call themselves libertarians, but are in fact libertines. Libertines live by the Law of Thelema: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Libertarians do not endorse misbehavior; rather libertarians know that government regulation of private behavior is unauthorized by The People, is inherently immoral, and never improves society’s state. Personal responsibility is the mantra of libertarians, and people who hide behind the word to justify their peccadillos only debase the movement.
The OTM is flooded with misrepresentations through language, and this list could go on. Those interested in liberty and prosperity should avoid these sloppy words that cast a shadow on their views. A sloppy lexicon works against the libertarian cause; writers and speakers should defend their language not just for language’s sake, but to clearly define themselves and their cause.