Hi, Boys and Girls! Today's lesson is on how to use word connotations to demonize leftists and socialism! Are you ready to have your minds molded? Great!
Now let's take a look at how Henry Chu of the Los Angeles Times uses word connotations to demonize socialism in South America. Remember that connotations are the emotions associated certain words. Some words have good connotations; that means you have a good feeling about those. Other words have a bad feeling about them.
So, when Henry Chu starts an article off with "Fears of a
Lurch to the Left in South America", does that word "lurch" make you feel GOOD or BAD about Leftist politics? You see what I mean, Boys and Girls? The mainstream media really knows how to clue the reader into what to think about those dirty, dirty commies and leftists.
I used to write for the TV news, Boys and Girls, and I never DARED go against the preordained set of rules for writing about politics, or ottherwise, that would have been my last day writing for TV news, Boys and Girls!
Now, let's proceed with today's lesson, and see if we can find more of those sly uses of word connotations!
When CHu writs about how "U.S. Rep. Henry J. Hyde warned the White House of a new
"axis of evil" in the United States' backyard," what does THAT make you think of? Hitler, maybe!? There ya go!
And when Chu uses the phrase "a
threat to the civilized world," we get all scared inside, huh? "Threat" is a Bad Word, Boys and Girls!
And then when he writes about an "
ominous 'leftward drift'" in foreign policy," he really drives home the right message. Mr. Chu probably has little kids at home to feed. He doesn't want to get fired!
And then he really knocks the ball out of the Word Connotation Park when he talks about how "South America today is a caldron of simmering socialist sentiment liable to boil over into
red-eyed radicalism." OK, Mr Chu, we really know where you are coming from! You sly wordsmith, you!
And then he goes on to warn us about how, "with left-leaning leaders at the helm, critics warned, heavyweights such as Brazil and Argentina might renege on loan payments,
trample private enterprise,
undermine liberal democracy."
But now we need to use some words with GOOD connotations to tell us about how very good our own system is. Let's see how Mr Chu does here: "
pragmatists willing to stick to orthodox economic principles and
play by accepted international rules. " Gee, I feel all warm inside now!
Let's drive those good connotations home:"governed
firmly from the center...
rational and pragmatic."
All right, Mr. Chu, you don't want to overdo it, now. You did a real good job for all those rich investors. You can go home to your family.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-left6may06,1,1266225.story?coll=la-headlines-world