How Words Manipulate Part 2

IN a previous article posted on this blog, I attempted to show how easily we are manipulated by the wording of copyright restriction notices (see How Words Manipulate of January 2007). I wrote that article because it had become annoying enough in my mind and I needed an outlet.

Recently I have been getting annoyed by the rhetoric of the gutter press, magazines, web sites, radio and television — especially when journalists interview serious professionals who cannot resort to quips or soundbites, or when politicians are involved!

That is why I have returned to this subject. This time I want to concentrate on how we are manipulated by the spoken word — by what is known as

Why Consumer Choice is Not Good

I AM going to argue here that things have gone wrong, and that responsibility has become misplaced. It seems to me to be the case that things are no longer what they once were, that things are no longer simple.

Allow me to illustrate: Bread is no longer just bread, there

What is the Best Form of Government?

ALL today’s politics and ideologies are in fact pretty new. It’s odd that we just take for granted ideas like Capitalism, Democracy, Communism, Socialism, Trades Unions, insurance, banking, and even parliaments as the norms.

However, the truth is that they are all experimental ideas — all of them are man-made, designed, thought up, devised, planned and contrived — and they are not very old, so they have not had a lot of time to iron out the wrinkles.

What is Democracy Anyway?

DEMOCRACY is a myth.

“Democracy” seems to be considered to be a good and desirable “thing” — some people even believe that it is a basic human right. Others think of it as being natural. Honestly, the way the media report it, you would imagine that there is only one clearly defined “democracy”.

For goodness sake: people are dying in the fight for democracy — yet it can mean almost anything; it is a myth — and I will prove it!

How Men Have Been Conned

WHAT is it to be a man these days?

This is clearly a problem; something seems to have gone wrong — and I suspect it has something to do with selling products.

Take pop music for example, and compare this with an earlier time.

Why The Car is Best

THE car is not perfect, but it is still the best. It really is — and to deny this simple truth can only lead to unhappiness. Facts are facts, and facts have to be faced. What I shall attempt to do here is explain for the record why the car is best (as completely as I possibly can).

How To Manage Racism, Sectarianism and Sexism

RACISM, segregation, apartheid, exclusivity, equal opportunity, élite… these words (and many others) strike fear into the hearts of modern folk. Why?

How Entertainment is a Rip Off

ENTERTAINMENT is supposed to be fun, isn’t it? So where did it all go wrong?

I was recently amazed to discover that it is a copyright infringement to rip a CD that you own so that you can listen to it on an MP3 player. I just DARE the authorities to come and get me for this!

This is a moan about how much time and money I have been forced to spend over the years, and now, looking back, I don’t see that it was worthwhile; I seem to have given far more than I have received. It has been a struggle to keep up with technology: better quality, better formats, and so it has been going, until recently things have started to DIE — goodbye to the videocassette, cheerio to the floppy disc.

How To Stop Traffic Jams & Save Lives

GETTING it right first time is a rarity. But even if something was done right first time, because the surrounding world changes, there has to be a limit to how long it can remain right.

In other words, everything ought to be monitored and reviewed regularly, with changes made as required.

• How likely do you think it is that traffic and town planners have managed to get things right from the start?

How Words Manipulate

WORDS are abused these days – or perhaps I should state that we are being subliminally influenced by words chosen to secretly manipulate us.

To be clear, I am discussing the notion of copyright.

Everywhere today we see: “Piracy“…