My fellow Americans
I wonder if there is any truth in my current perception that George Orwell is the last unifier of American politics: it seems conservatives fear America becoming that which was depicted in 1984, whereas liberals believe the Bush administration turned the country into Animal Farm. Perhaps I am wrong. Either way, from him comes the following passage. Both sides should take note:
The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies “something not desirable.” The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different.
From “Politics and the English Language,” 1946 — but really timeless.