A common crime (in the broad sense) of the Regressivists (Progressives, Liberals, etc.) is their frequent abuse of common English. (Conservative and right-wingers do the same, just in different ways than the Regressivists. But for now, let’s belabor the poor language skills of our left-wing neighbors.)

It is tyrants who benefit from corrupting our language. It requires someone in power to sort things out and enforce whatever perversions are built into our daily communications. It divides people and lets these thugs rule more easily.

Colorado is the scene of a most recent crime, although they are just imitating California and a few other more “progressive” states. A member of the General Assembly from Denver wants to remove the phrase “illegal immigrant” from all state law.

California has done this repeatedly. More and more commonly accepted and used phrases and words are now deemed to be politically incorrect. Or worse. Using the wrong words rapidly lead to vicious attacks (verbal and even physical) against the speaker or writer. They are condemned as sexist, racist, bigoted, malicious, and worse. Those daring to use such words are to be punished – as much as possible by denying them any voice at all. The regressives get bonus points for getting such people fired, their incomes destroyed, and denouncement by influencers and others.

And in the meantime, the objective use and understanding of the English language plummets. Especially on the college campuses. And most especially on the campuses of those institutions which are, ironically enough, called “liberal arts.”

But the corruption of English extends even to trade schools, and departments. Science and engineering and all the various fields of technology from electronics to drafting and health – even such training areas as dental technicians and information management.

It is ironic, considering that the more automated and precise all these endeavors become in the 21st Century, the more the language taught the trainees is debased. It is as if more and more barriers must be placed in front of people who need to master the skills and gain the experience needed to get our modern economy and society to function well.

Or indeed, to function at all.

Which drives the economic divides which plague our society, our culture, and attack the foundations of civilizations. The “bottom end” jobs (which really aren’t) might be thought to be immune from the lack of discipline and understanding which abuse of the language causes.

But that is not the case. Even such “low-tech” and “minimum-wage” jobs as clerks at supermarkets and convenience stores, cooks and support personnel in restaurants and fast-food places, and clothing and tobacco shop salespersons (to name a few) require an ability to communicate effectively and efficiently. To say nothing of people in the gig economy, from Uber drivers to GrubHub delivery personnel.

With more and more high school graduates being functionally illiterate, this trend seems doomed to grow. And further damage daily life.

As with so many other problems, the solution is personal responsibility and accountability to one another – NOT new government programs that waste time and money and pass the buck to political elites or technocrats. Personal responsibility at a young age – preteen and younger. In part, immunizing them against the idiots which now control the government-run, tax-funded institutions which teach the abuse of English (and other languages and disciplines).

That means continuing to resist government and the nanny-state that we live in. It means pushing back against the politically-correct celebrities and elites that benefit from failures in communicating and voluntarily cooperating. The foundations of both the free market and a free society can be rebuilt.

And in particular, it means rejecting the temptation to act like the enemies of liberty and lovers of tyranny and irresponsibility which push this corruption of the very words we speak and write.