That Orwell guy knew what he was talking about

Doublethink is all around us and it works on many people.

As used in Orwell's 1984, the concept of doublethink is the ability to hold two completely contradictory thoughts simultaneously while believing both of them to be true. It also refers to deliberately choosing to forget memories and losing the ability to form independent thoughts.

Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine and the translated pronouncements of Putin are prime examples of how language is often manipulated to the point where truth is obscured. But the stolen election lies from many Republicans, led by the clearly Orwellian Trump, are not so different.

The Russian strategy of supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine and yesterday declaring that two provinces were now "independent," thus allowing "peacekeeping" troops to enter is a classic case of creating a problem in order to solve it.

Trump, of course, had to comment on his admiration for how smart this was on Putin's behalf, hinting that this might be a way to deal with some of America's border issues. 

Here in little old Douglas County we learn today that the radical majority school board had already come to a basic agreement with someone to replace the superintendent they opposed and dismissed without cause. A local journalist spent many hours tracking down recordings, text messages, emails, and public records to put together a detailed timeline.

And, of course, Erin Kane, the soon-to-be named new superintendent, managed to send a text message accidentally to Corey Wise, the man who was fired, that revealed the whole sordid arrangement.

The four radicals' reactions? "Nothing to see here. We are simply responding to "numerous requests and lots of pressure" from residents. 

"Doublethink" and "doublespeak" are rhetorical fallacies, of course, much like "ad hominem" attacks (personal and not related to issues) and "straw man" arguments (creating a situation in order to then present a solution). That last one is quite close to what Russia is doing right now.

Another way of thinking about how language can be manipulated to achieve almost any result is the concept of the Big Lie. If people in authority or in the media persist in repeating a lie long enough and with enough passion, many people lose track of the original lie. Many will suspect that there must be "some" truth to the lie. After all, why are so many important people, so many important media outlets, saying something is true.

As persuasive writers, we must avoid the temptation to make use of doublethink (war is peace, hate is love), but we also need to be alert to its use.

Part of media education is to learn to use journalism tools and strategies, but an even more long-lasting goal is to become familiar with how journalism works and how media can manipulated (and then manipulate us).

Our students may or may not do much persuasive writing in their futures but they will definitely encounter arguments of all kinds.

The very idea of an informed citizenry is always under attack.