Editorial

Lost in the cloud

Alas, poor Warwick, we knew him well when he became a state rep. A student leader before that, there were times during his long, steady rise when he spoke English, a rapidly vanishing tongue. But now that he's executive director of the state's Regional Innovation Hub, he's become fluent in Execuspeak, a new but pretentious tongue that keeps cropping up like Johnson grass. And needs to be wiped out before it spreads like kudzu, blurring the simple outlines of everything in sight.

For those interested in deciphering this new pseudo-language of his, a job that would require a team of expert codebreakers, here's the gooey slice of it Mr. Sabin served up on the grand occasion when the Innovation Hub merged with Winrock International the other day:

"Our goal was to develop in innovative ways and we've created a dynamic model for that. This will elevate and amplify the impact of the Innovation Hub. Arkansas can continue to be a leader in this new chapter, and we couldn't be more proud and thankful." Proud of what, exactly? Thankful for what, exactly? He didn't say, not exactly. "This is an opportunity" he went on to no clear purpose, "to further establish Arkansas as a global leader in innovative strategies in community and economic development . . ." Blah, blah and, for emphasis BLAH. The only thing missing from his statement was any clear meaning.

George Orwell, thou shouldst be living at this hour. English hath need of thee; the language has become a fen of stagnant waters somehow newly distilled. Like bootleg whiskey or bathtub gin. Can all this beating around a whole forest of bushes be just another way of saying that Mr. Sabin is now in charge of leasing space for the next new industry to come to the state? Or the next old one to expand? Then why didn't he say so in plain English, even if that would run the risk of being understood? Because, of course, English would have neither the mystery nor mystique of Execuspeak.

Editorial on 06/25/2016

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