Every time I read or watch the news, I get angry at how political jargon disguises lying words. This election cycle (will it ever end?) has popularized the expressions “walk back” and “pivot.” “Walking back” and “pivoting are weasely ways to express, at best, flip-flopping and at worst, lying.
Consider “walking back” as it applies to the two main contenders for President of the United States. Hillary Clinton has“walked back” her explanation for using her private e-mail server several times as well as other statements (Ex: “Hillary Clinton Walks Back Coal Remarks….” www.Bloomberg.com, May 2, 2016). Donald Trump has “walked back” so many assertions, it’s a wonder he remembers how to walk forward. However, the current word of choice for Trump is “pivoted.” (Ex: “For months and months, pundits, journalists and Republican leaders have been waiting for Donald Trump to pivot.” (Fortune magazine, August 20, 2016.) I’m not sure what that means. Donald Trump has “pivoted” his positions on immigration, Iraq, Mexicans and on and on.
I have no hope that the lying will ever stop, though “walking back” and “pivoting” with likely be replaced by other misleading expressions. Meanwhile, I amuse myself by imagining Hillary and Donald dancing, a la Astaire and Rogers, pivoting across the dance floor, then reversing direction—Hillary dancing backwards in high heels, Donald’s hair fluttering in the breeze….
