Glittering generalities are emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction without supporting information or reason. They appeal to such emotions such as as love of country, home; desire for peace, freedom, glory, honor, etc. They ask for approval without examination of the reason. They are a typically used by politicians and propagandists.

A glittering generality has two qualities:

1. It is vague
2. It has positive connotations

Words like "strength," "democracy," , "patriotism", and "freedom" are terms that people have powerful associations with, and people may have trouble disagreeing with them. It is as if to say, who could argue against "freedom"? However, these words are highly abstract, and meaningful differences exist regarding what they actually mean or should mean in the real world. For instance, while few may argue against "freedom", how it is judged what exactly "freedom" is or should be in a given scenario may be completely contradictory between different people.

Examples:

• "I believe in an America that's strong at home and respected in the world. I believe we can have a strong economy focused on good-paying jobs, a health care plan that reduces costs, an energy plan that frees us from Mideast oil, and I believe we can lead a strong military and strong alliances that keep America safe and secure." -- John Kerry

• "It's really a difference about who do you trust, if you really think about it. Do you trust a social entrepreneur on the ground, or do you trust a planner in a faraway capital. And I think you'll find that these initiatives I've talked about, and the spirit that you've just defined, is now kind of the attitude in Washington. And that's important. That really is important. If we say what matters is whether or not lives are being saved, you figure out how to do it, you'll find that the entrepreneurial spirit at the social level will be much more invigorated and much more alive. The energy level will be tremendous at the grassroots level. And that's really the job of government, is to set the strategy and the goals and get out of the way." -- George W. Bush

The term may have originated with the Institute for Propaganda Analysis.

External links

• Propaganda critic: Glittering generalities (http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/ct.wg.gg.html)