r one causing the other. As Orwell's argument unveils, politicians are liars who need a way to deceive their contingents and evade central issues. They misuse language in their acts of deception; the language degenerates, in turn, producing more verbal fodder for successive politicians to use in a bloated, insincere manner. A phrase spouted by many American politicians under investigation during the Watergate scandal, "to the best of my recollection" (read: "I may be lying, but that is up to you to find out") comes to mind. Prime Minister Trudeau's bombastic justification of the War Measures Act during the speech to the nation on the FLQ, in October of 1970, yielded the following bland, but soothing, words: "I want to reassure you that the authorities have the situation well in hand. Everything that needs to be done is being done; every level of government in this country is well prepared to act in your interests" (6). Unfortunately, civil liberties were stripped from every Canadian for a period which could only be characterized as clouded by a siege mentality.
Orwell is quite severe in his hatred of politics, and he is wary that "there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics'" (272). He maintains that the above statement is true because "All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia" (272). However bleak the situation might seem--there is no escaping bad language, or the politicians who perpetuate it--Orwell says that the situation is reversible. We can change bad language--by sincerity, simplicity, and directness.
Throughout his expository and personal essay, Orwell does not completely exempt himself from some of the same bad writing practices he urges others not to fall into; in fact, he tells the reader if one goes back through his essay, "for certain you will find that I have again and again committed the very faults I am protesting against. ...