Column: Breaking the chains of bureaucratic language

Posted: 5:39 am, May 17, 2025 by Guest Contributor

Ron Cuff.

– While technology has largely replaced the printing press, the ancient adage remains true: the pen is mightier than the sword. Unfortunately, this power increasingly serves not to enlighten but to confuse and control our citizenry.

We witness daily how government officials weaponize language. The evidence is overwhelming: a U.S. tax code bloated to 750 million words, permit applications that require advanced degrees to comprehend, and regulatory frameworks deliberately designed to be impenetrable to average citizens.

This isn’t mere inefficiency—it’s strategic. When lawyers and judges employ convoluted legalese in endless run-on sentences, they create a system where justice depends on who can afford the best translator. When bureaucrats, compensated with generous salaries and benefits, craft regulations in arcane terminology, they ensure their continued necessity as interpreters of their own creation.

Most troubling are our elected officials who, rather than simplifying governance, collaborate with legal experts to produce thousands of unintelligible laws annually. These serve three purposes: controlling the populace, extracting additional tax revenue, and—perhaps most cynically—securing their reelection by appearing to address problems while creating new ones.

The consequences extend beyond frustration. As the Russian saying goes, “Find me the man and I will find you his crime.” In a system where laws are incomprehensible and contradictory, any citizen can unwittingly become a criminal—a dangerous power in the hands of government.

The solution is clear and achievable: we must demand that our government communicate in plain English. We need comprehensive reform requiring:
– All laws and regulations to be written at an 8th-grade reading level
– Regular purging of outdated or redundant statutes
– Independent review panels to identify and resolve contradictory regulations
– Leveraging AI technology to streamline and clarify our legal framework

Our democracy depends on informed citizens. How can we be informed when information is deliberately obscured? The time has come to reclaim language as a tool for clarity and understanding rather than confusion and control.

Let’s demand better. Our freedom may depend on it.

Ron Cuff, USN (Ret.)
Paso Robles, Calif.

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