Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds
Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds by Michael J. Knowles
“Political correctness” has taken politeness and turned it into a weapon of censorship and intimidation. How did so absurd a concept become so dangerous -- and come to dominate our public discourse?
For at least the past quarter century, political correctness has dominated American public discourse. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush blamed “political correctness” for “conflict and even censorship” that left “free speech under assault in the United States.” In 2016, Donald Trump focused much of his presidential campaign on fighting the same scourge, declaring, “Political correctness is just absolutely killing us as a country.”
Americans are confronted daily with a laundry list of words you’re “not allowed” to say-- a list that is updated constantly and without warning.
Speechless traces the history and effects of political correctness from the early twentieth century to the present and examines what this concerted manipulation of language means for the future of American culture and politics.
I've seen a few of Prager U's Book Club videos hosted by Michael Knowles and enjoyed them.
I did want to read his book and was going to borrow it from the library and then I saw it was included in the Audible Plus catalogue so I thought I'd take advantage.
I really liked it because I learned some history and he covers a range of many topics. Political correctness and cancel culture is nothing new. Times change, people don't. And quite frankly, I am sick of the left's new dictionary of words and phrases that are allowed and the ones that will get you fired.
It was published in 2021 so there it mentions the pandemic. Knowles does a great Fauci impression and I cracked up. I can't stand that beady, elfish bureaucrat so well worth listening to the audiobook.
Overall the book does a good job of describing the left's ways of manipulating speech to fit their agenda and censoring those who oppose them.
5 out of 5 Newspeak.
“Political correctness” has taken politeness and turned it into a weapon of censorship and intimidation. How did so absurd a concept become so dangerous -- and come to dominate our public discourse?
For at least the past quarter century, political correctness has dominated American public discourse. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush blamed “political correctness” for “conflict and even censorship” that left “free speech under assault in the United States.” In 2016, Donald Trump focused much of his presidential campaign on fighting the same scourge, declaring, “Political correctness is just absolutely killing us as a country.”
Americans are confronted daily with a laundry list of words you’re “not allowed” to say-- a list that is updated constantly and without warning.
Speechless traces the history and effects of political correctness from the early twentieth century to the present and examines what this concerted manipulation of language means for the future of American culture and politics.
I've seen a few of Prager U's Book Club videos hosted by Michael Knowles and enjoyed them.
I did want to read his book and was going to borrow it from the library and then I saw it was included in the Audible Plus catalogue so I thought I'd take advantage.
I really liked it because I learned some history and he covers a range of many topics. Political correctness and cancel culture is nothing new. Times change, people don't. And quite frankly, I am sick of the left's new dictionary of words and phrases that are allowed and the ones that will get you fired.
It was published in 2021 so there it mentions the pandemic. Knowles does a great Fauci impression and I cracked up. I can't stand that beady, elfish bureaucrat so well worth listening to the audiobook.
Overall the book does a good job of describing the left's ways of manipulating speech to fit their agenda and censoring those who oppose them.
5 out of 5 Newspeak.