Just because they tell you it's right, doesn't mean it is

I'm fascinated by words, as you might expect/hope. I'm paid to spend time choosing them, playing with them, pulling them apart, substituting them. As a Copywriter, I explore the subtle aspects and shades of words, with no nuance too slight as to be insignificant. Because there's power in them thar' words - the power to hide, the power to mislead, the power to create impressions
with broad brushstrokes of phrases. One of the skills of a good Copywriter lies in putting things in such a way as to sail as close to the wind as possible, but never tell a direct lie. Like teflon, me, on a good day.

This means I can spot a weasel a mile away - and I see more and more evidence of weasel everywhere I look. Reading this article in The Guardian today I was struck by the Department of Health's brazen commitment to privatisation of the National Health Service and concurrent contempt for the will and intelligence of the British nation. Have a read of this and indulge me if you will. I quote:

 "There is absolutely no government policy to privatise NHS services. The NHS will stay free for everyone, but it's right that patients should get the best service – regardless of who provides it. Charities, social enterprises and independent providers play an important part in providing NHS care – and have done for many years – helping give patients more choice of where and how they are treated."

Let's take this piece by piece. There is "absolutely no government policy to privatise NHS services" but at the same time "it's right"  that patients should get the best service - "regardless of who provides it" (be it private interests or not, in other words). Smell a rat? Yes, the whole decision of whether to privatise the NHS or not hinges on what's "right". That way, the Department of Health uses a 'moral' argument to justify the slide into privatisation which is clearly what is now being orchestrated.

What's interesting about this is that the Department of Health has placed itself in the position of  moral authority - the ones who are the arbiters of what is right and what is wrong. That is to say, the government is now telling us what is in our own best interests - didn't you realise it's in our best interests to be delivered the best NHS service no matter who delivers it? What about what we think about the differences between who delivers that service and who does not. It's obvious to anyone that WHO delivers NHS services will be of immense importance to outcomes which profoundly affect this nation. What gets subsumed in this "we know what's right for you and that's why we're doing it" approach is any genuine debate on the matter.

Does this dumbing down of public debate give any others of you a kind of unpleasant feeling? These are warning signs I'm afraid. I hate to say it folks, but we are sleep-walking into place where other societies have been before - by handing over our own personal moral authority to self-serving governments. Let's all speak up for what we believe to be right and foster respectful, inclusive debate - otherwise, well, don't say I didn't warn you.