George Orwell's Opinion and My Response

George Orwell objects to "ready-made phrases" and "mixed metaphors" and he shows his opinion in his article, Politics and the English Language. He opposes ready-made phrases because he thinks people are only using them out of laziness because they don't want to think for themselves. Orwell implies that these ready-made phrases are often used when the writer wants to say something but doesn't know how to express it,  or he "Inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not". They're often used without knowledge of their true meaning because the author isn't truly interested in what they're saying. Ready-made phrases replace simple conjunctions and prepositions, ultimately complicating things by making the sentences more passive and less active. Orwell doesn't like the use of mixed metaphors because it complicates things and makes the purpose less clear. "Dead", or old metaphors are often used even though they've lost all power because people are too lazy to come up with new phrases of their own. Incorrect metaphor usage relates back to humans being lazy and not wanting to do their own work. Some of the old metaphors are still good, but they've been twisted until they lose their original meaning and the author isn't even aware of this. The mixed metaphors are then easily misinterpreted and not useful. These stale metaphors and pre-made phrases save a lot of mental effort because the person doesn't have to think for themselves, but it also leaves meanings vague for both readers and authors. A metaphor is supposed to draw a visual image, but if the metaphor doesn't make sense the images clash and writing ends up not making sense. The English language has become faulty due to people not wanting to think for themselves and using old and outdated ideas instead. Both of these ideas have the ability of thinking your thoughts for you and constructing sentences for you until the point where language is dominating and corrupting the thought.
I agree with Orwell that these techniques should not be used. People are too lazy and if they let language control their thoughts, ideas will never be made clear and our language won't progress forward. When things are ready-made, people tend to fall back on them instead of creating new thoughts because it's easier. Humans take the easy way out too frequently and we don't want our language to become a natural growth, but we want to use it as an instrument that will help us thrive. Mixed metaphors and ready-made phrases are too confusing because they don't usually match up with what the author is trying to say and it distracts from the point. They're unnecessary and generally weaken the point when we should be using language that strengthens us. Diction is super important in getting messages out because it helps things be clear and detailed.

Both of these images are examples of mixed metaphors. They show metaphors that have been so distorted to the point where their meanings have completely changed. 

1 Story, 2 Sources

When comparing the same news story of people at disadvantages under Trump's tax reform from both CNN and Fox News, I noticed that each source told the story differently. The title of CNN's article shows partiality towards the GOP tax bill favoring the wealthy, and putting the poor at disadvantages. It's called, Poor Americans would lose billions under Senate GOP tax bill and the article from Fox News is called, Trump's tax reform plan: Who are the winners and losers? Could they be biased towards contrasting political parties or, "Fake News" as President Trump might say. CNN repeatedly states that all poor Americans would be losing money because the legislation would eliminate the individual mandate which is what requires health insurance and the paying of penalties. It would cause 13 million fewer people to have coverage in 2027, and those with higher incomes will enjoy tax breaks. Everything in the article from the title to the information within, is biased towards the idea that Trump's tax reform is not helpful or fair to the poorer citizens of the United States. CNN also uses technique in it's argument that supports liberals rather than conservatives. It only shows the standpoint of the poor, and doesn't mention any possible benefits that the tax reform might offer. CNN purposefully leaves out much of the positive information and instead focuses on all the negative impacts it might have. In the Fox News article, the effects of the GOP tax bill are portrayed differently where it's divided into those who win and those who will lose. This specific diction in it's title shows how their administration focuses largely on winners and losers--terminology that's also frequently referenced by President Tump. Fox News categorizes low-income households with high-income households, corporations with high tax rates, heirs to large estates, and people who do their own taxes as the "winners". They claim that low income families will win because there will be reduced tax income and the standard deduction is doubled. It will also increase the child tax credit which can be beneficial to some families. Fox has a different idea of the standing point of poor citizens, claiming that they will come out ahead as a result of the new tax bill. The article declares that all successful Americans of a variety of incomes will benefit from the GOP tax bill. This is a biased opinion towards conservatives and Donald Trump's republican party because it supports his plan and reinforces the ideas of congressional Republicans. Fox News uses the technique of only focusing on the positive impact the tax bill will leave on poor families and not mentioning what the bill will do to the status of health care. Both news sources have completely different conclusions on the same idea: how the poor will be affected by the GOP tax bill. This is common in the media and that's why President Trump has falsely accused some news agencies for reporting, "Fake News". This bias towards political parties changes the story and with different dialect and techniques, the same story can be distorted to something almost entirely different. 

Below are the links to both news stories:
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/27/news/economy/senate-gop-tax-bill-poor/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/10/26/trumps-tax-reform-plan-who-are-winners-and-losers.html

My Relationship with the Internet

I spend a lot of my time glued to my phone. I carry it around like I can't live without it. I use it for all forms of communication and it has both positive and negative effects. In the past I have made a lot of friends through technology, it's opened me up to a lot of people from different schools and areas. I also get updates on world news and am able to be kept up to date with major events. Without technology I wouldn't have access to a lot of this information. However, this technology also creates jealousy and depression. With apps like snapchat and instagram, you're always able to view what other people are doing and as a natural instinct we compare what we have to what others have. This causes jealousy and ungratefulness when we are privileged and should be thankful for what we have. Also, everything on the internet is one-sided and you never know the full story so things can easily be misinterpreted and it causes problems in friendships and relationships. I struggle with this because I forget that people are using technology to portray themselves in a certain way, and I get caught up in this false reality that is created. I end up making a lot of comparisons with people online and my own life which is unhealthy. Recently I have tried to disconnect from technology, but it's become such a big part of my life that when I am not using it I feel lost and I don't know what to do with myself. It's become too big a part of my life and sometimes I wish I never began using technology because in a way I've lost touch with my true self. I keep it because it has beneficial factors and I am working towards finding a balance in my life where I can block out the negative impact that the internet has had with my life.