In a book titled 'Beyond Hypocrisy: Decoding the News in an Age of Propaganda', the late Edward S Herman, the author of the book, best known as the co-author of the Noam Chomsky bestseller 'Manufacturing Consent', has an interesting dictionary corner which has a satirical definition to many phrases that we often hear uttered in the news by our politicians and by political commentators.
For instance, it describes 'Truth' as 'Emissions from the mouths of the powerful' and 'National interest' as 'The demands and needs of the corporate community.' Similarly, 'Patriotism' is 'Judging disputes on the basis of place of residence' and 'Police brutality' is 'A myth built on a mountain of cracked skulls'. Such definitions, while humourous are thought-provoking as they challenge the rhetoric and hyperbole that politics is usually entrenched in.
On our part, DH does the same with our Speak Out section which challenges such rhetoric and hyperbole daily, in our newspaper's editorial pages. DH's Speak Out has been curated and highlighted by other news publications as well such as Buzzfeed in an article titled '29 Times Deccan Herald Savagely Called Out The Hypocrisy Of Politicians From All Parties.'
This year, fans of Speak Out even opened up a subreddit called DH Savagery to highlight our curations. This year, as usual, our curators didn't hold back as there were plenty of amusing comments coming from every corner of the political spectrum.
As the year 2018 comes to a close, DH brings to you, a short collection of some of our best-received Speak Outs of the year.
Read some of the stories below:
Won't let PM sleep till farm loans waived: Rahul
Pak wants 'strong', 'civilised' ties with India: Imran
Siddaramaiah blames Modi govt for CBI fiasco
Right to pray is not right to desecrate: Smriti Irani
KCR says Rahul Gandhi is 'biggest buffoon' in India
People want new PM after 2019: Akhilesh Yadav
UP law and order best the state has seen in 15 yrs: Yogi
I am indebted to Cong, not to people: HDK
Siddaramaiah was overconfident and took the risk: DKS
SC verdict reducing water to TN very disappointing: Rajinikanth
PM Modi, Amit Shah, Hegde not Hindus: Prakash Raj
Demonetisation 'bitter medicine' for corruption: Modi
Which Speak Out was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!.
(Compiled by Poornima Ramesh and Varun HK)