Miscommunication and Politics

There have been recent reports that some people think "no deal" on Brexit means staying in the European Union instead of crashing out with no transition whatsoever.  If so that makes the difficulties of having this debate even harder, although I can hardly blame the public when government ministers appear not to know basic facts.

Anyway, this scenario apparently know includes the possibility of imposing martial law.  This might involve curfews, travel bans, confiscation of property and deploying the armed forces.  Makes Caroline Flint's fears over disorder if we have a second referendum seem quite quaint. 

Incidentally, to help get everyone in the right mood for Brexit without a deal, the British Museum is shortly to begin an exhibition on Edvard Munch, who famously drew "The Scream".

There seem to be a number of terms that get distanced from any meaning.  "Neo liberal" often seems to mean "anyone I don't like".  "Blairite" is often used in a similar way.  The misuse of the term "Zionist" is widespread now.  I have noticed an increased use of "racist" to refer to things other than race.

This appears to be the result of an increased reliance on sloganizing rather than thinking, and seems to me to make effective communication just impossible.