Reading a Neil Postman essay this weekend, The Educationist as Painkiller, first presented as an address in 1987, I found an interesting passage. Postman was making the case that the job of those in education should be combatting stupidity, or balderdash, as he put it. Of the varieties of balderdash, he mentions Pomposity, Earthiness, Euphemism, Word Magic, Sloganeering, Superstition, and - hey - Eichmannism.
Eichmannism is that form of balderdash which accepts as its starting and ending point official definitions, rules, and regulations without regard for the realities of particular situations. The language of Eichmannism is the voice of the organization, which is why it is usually polite, subdued, and even gracious - in a plastic sort of way...Eichmannism is the cool, orderly, cynical language of the bureaucratic mentality aliented from human interests. It is especially dangerous because it is so utterly detached. That means, among other things, that some of the nicest people turn out to be mini-Eichmanns, and that includes most of us.
Posted by Bobby Farouk at April 3, 2005 11:14 AM