Politics and the English Language

While the title had me cringing before I even began reading (since most things that involve politics tend to swing one way or another depending on the author's biases), I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I finished reading. At first, I wasn't sure I would be able to understand Orwell's connection between the decline of proper English and how politics is at fault for this, but the analogies he used helped make things a lot clearer. He explained that when a man feels like he's a failure it may drive him to drink, when in actuality he ends up becoming a failure because of his decision to drink instead of improve upon the things that he doesn't like about himself. That line got me the most because I saw a lot of myself in it (not through drinking). It's so easy sometimes for me to say “I can't do this” or “I don't know how to change” and it's even easier to convince myself that that's a viable enough excuse to continue doing things that I know I would rather not do (like be a procrastinator and never study). After the analogy he mentioned that the process is reversible, but only if a person is willing to go through the necessary hardships to change the way they do things. He's completely right, because I've seen people break the hardest of habits with the right kind of motivation and perseverance. I'm just hoping that one day it'll happen for me because I feel like I'm ready for it.