June 21, 2017
Words to avoid: infrastructure
Everyone knew what public works were, Many don't know what infrastructure means. It is a pompous word that works against itself, witness the fact that since infrastructure became the preferred word of politicians and journalists, the state of our public works have dramatically declined. - Sam Smith
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3 comments:
Strangely enough, many millennials have never heard the term "Public Works" since few of them remember anything before Bill Clinton was president. Millennials grew up with the term "Infrastructure".
Infrastructure is military, producing a steady stream of wars of aggression. The public lacks sovereignty to call itself such, to prevent foreign wars or to promote public works. This is the old Polk versus Clay collision, the corporate super-rich versus the American System, then a tariff debate now taxation.
What about a word that has Not changed.
People used to know what the term Politician meant. Yet, now refers to many 'pompous' wealthy individuals with personal axes to grind, and arguably more profits to make.
Washington does seem to hide things in Abbreviations, Orwellian 'speak', and thousands of pages of documentation.
"Infrastructure" might be a case of correlation, but causality? OK, maybe my thoughts on the word might have been a little too simplistic - that of bridges and roads. I know it is more than that. But lets spend out time wrestling with more meaningful endeavors.
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