We aim above the mark to hit the mark. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Every year, Dow Jones compiles a list of the prior year’s gobbledygook, a compendium of words and phrases that have been overused to the extent that they’ve been rendered meaningless. The winner for 2008 was innovative, which comes as no surprise, given our propensity to persist in the belief that we remain innovative, even as we surrender more and more to deleterious governmental paternalism and economic collectivism that saps our senses of initiative, even as it steals our resources and eliminates our incentives to innovate. Because there is so little room or reward for innovation, then, innovative has become like honest: the less one is either, the more likely one is to trumpet being both.
In the parlance of informal logic, using a descriptive word or phrase that seems to reaffirm what we wish to prove – that suggests a point at issue has been settled when, in fact, it remains in question – is called the fallacy of the question-begging epithet. The employment of that fallacy is a favorite tactic of marketing firms, advertising agencies, public relations flacks, and technology companies. It’s especially favored by government officials and agencies, desirous as they are to have us believe something vital is going on while they’re sucking the vitality out of whatever it is they’re touting. It’s their way of making us feel richer while they’re robbing us blind. (See Obama, President.)
An indication of what we’ve lost, what we’re losing, and why we’ll continue to lose it is provided in an article published last summer in History Today, written by Andre Balogh, Emeritus Professor of Space Physics at Imperial College, London – and Director of the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland. In the article, “Above and Beyond: The Apollo Space Race to the Moon“, Mr Balogh didn’t overtly state that he misses the innovative spirit that characterized the United States just 40 years ago. But one discerns a kind of longing for what’s been lost now that we’ve opted to forgo taking chances in favor of being taken care of. (See Obama, President.)
Apollo was … symbolic of a different mentality, optimistic, can-do, and willing to confront the most awe-inspiring challenges … the United States, once moved, could do what nobody else could do [because it] recognized that the most important and convincing force in international politics is the perception of superiority … And so the vast technical might of the United States was put into gear to design, test, and carry out the project … [but today] a manned mission to Mars seems beyond the reach of affordable technology and political will [because of] the vast increase in the thresholds of risk that are now seen as acceptable … Apollo could not be reproduced in the 21st century, simply because … sights have lowered as fears have increased.
There is some consolation here, though. Yes. We have become fearful of things like aeronautics, exploration, adventure, and invention. We have killed innovation in favor of complacent timidity and compliant obedience. We have abdicated all manner of independence because dependence is … well … easier, isn’t it? After all, taking it easy is what people are supposed to do when Big Daddy is teaching them how to be safe, right? And we’re good boys and girls.
But Mr. Balogh is wrong about one thing: we’ve completely overcome our fear of big numbers, especially when they’re used to describe monetary concepts. He suggests we no longer have the national appetite for the $20 billion to $25 billion we spent on the Apollo program, let alone the equivalent of $150 billion in today’s dollars. What does he know? We’re staring straight down the barrel of $1.8 trillion, and we’re not even blinking. Why should we? Big Daddy says it’s what we have to do. So, it must be okay. (See Obama, President. If you’re inclined to say that report is “biased” because Fox News is “conservative”, you’re not likely to say The New York Times is “liberal”. But you can find exactly the same information there; although, you might have to register to get it. Gee, I wonder why it’s harder to get the information there?)
Next year, the Dow Jones list of gobbledygook will contain a bunch of other terms that have lost their meaning this year. Look for old favorites like motivation, democracy, liberty, national defense, capitalism, competition, entrepreneuralism, self-sufficiency – you know, things we just won’t need anymore, now that we’re a nation of kept, obsequious, and highly useful idiots. Equality will be big. But equal opportunity should be a goner by next year, too.
It’s okay. They’re only words. Attaching undue importance to them misses the mark.
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