I’m often darkly amused by common examples of inherently false nomenclature: “Jumbo shrimp.” “Government ethics.” “Unbiased news media.”
And one of our society’s biggest falsehoods-in-a-name: “Non-governmental organizations.”
Until recently, these groups have been widely seen as international, idealized versions of domestic nonprofits.
We thought of them as do-good organizations set up by people who really care — about the environment, or poor people, or children, or freedom.
We imagined they raise money, help the downtrodden, send out press releases and engage in other private activities to promote the causes they favor.
They’re not government entities, we thought — the very name says that — but a species of private charity whose good intentions deserve the benefit of any doubt.
Perhaps some NGOs do operate in that way.
But as we’ve learned recently, partly as the result of Department of Government Efficiency digging, many “non-governmental” entities are really just fronts for government activities that Americans would never stand for if Washington attempted them directly.