“We are committed to moving forward and exploring alternative solutions that align with the needs and priorities of our staff and community as a whole.” “It’s a ‘win-win-win’ for local farmers, for local consumers, and for food security moving forward.” “Going forward, health officials need to give concrete examples of what is and isn’t acceptable social interaction.” “We’re working collaboratively with BC Ferries to find a way forward.”
Stop it. Going forward. Moving forward. Whatever happened to “in future” or “looking a head”? Every time I hear this “brainlessly upbeat” tag-along, I feel like I’ve been hit with a heated cattle prod (or for the visually impaired, tasered). As BBC writer, Lucy Kellaway wrote, “When someone says ‘going forward’ it assaults the ears just as, when a colleague starts slurping French onion soup at a neighbouring desk.” It is a frustratingly vague term which seemingly has profound meaning, but it doesn’t add meaning to a sentence. In fact, more often, the message would be the same if the positively, irritating, tag-on was deleted.
CEOs, politicians, bureaucrats, and even professional athletes love adding it to sentences. It has become the corporate equivalent of the full stop; the grown-up version of the word “like.” And if you have been around bureaucrats and politicians, you will note that “going forward” is as contagious as cognitive dissonance. It’s a kind of collective hypnosis. Politicians, especially, seem to find the pretentious term comforting. Ironically, doomed Hillary Clinton earnestly said “We are going forward” back in 2016 when in fact she was going nowhere.
Why do people speak like this? Craig Vann explained that: “The dreaded phrase is almost always used as a superfluous ‘filler’ when the speaker needs to sound knowledgeable and/or important, such as ‘our strategy going forward.’ What is a strategy if not forward-looking? Or, it is randomly tacked onto the end of a sentence, as in: ‘Let’s talk about that tomorrow, going forward.’” For some reason, it shows purpose, action, and direction – in a really smart way. Not.
Listen to the news, reporters, journalists, continue to drop this phrase with brainless abandon. And, “like some sort of linguistic prickly pear, this unstoppable slogan has spread unchecked, even into the nooks and crannies of our conversational lives.” As someone wrote on the Conversation, “It is loathed by all except those who are too busy moving goalposts and hitting the ground running to notice that this expression does something to the neck hairs of most other speakers.” Why is it so reviled? Maybe because it’s part of big business jargon – a meaningless mantra that if repeated enough will give you an express pass up the corporate/bureaucratic ladder. If it’s not in your lingo and you don’t talk the talk, well, sayonara, baby.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is perhaps, the worst offender of all, which gives an insight into his intellectual prowess. In 2021, Trudeau launched “Moving Forward Together – Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy.” In his words, “Canadians have a clear choice: keep moving forward and build a better Canada for everyone.” It is like a disease with Trudeau.
Let me count the ways… “In October we’ve got a choice to make – keep moving forward and build on the progress we’ve made, or go back to the politics of the Harper years. I’m for moving forward, for everyone,” Trudeau said. “When I think about the biggest, most important economic policy this government, if re-elected, would move forward, you’ll forgive me if I don’t think about monetary policy.” Trudeau told a building trades union policy conference that the Liberals have “made the commitment that we are moving forward on a ban” on asbestos in Canada. Trudeau greeted reporters with the glad news that there had been “real substantive discussions” and that all concerned were “moving forward” in a “thoughtful, constructive way.”As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists that despite months of delay, his government is “moving forward” with a foreign interference inquiry, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is accusing him of standing in the way.
The prime minister admitted progress has been slower than he would have liked but said he believes “things are moving forward.” “I think it’s fairly clear that the US administration has made its decision on that, and we’re much more interested in ensuring that we’re moving forward in ways that are good for both of our countries.” The Liberal Party of Canada concluded their 2023 National Convention in Ottawa, focusing on the work that Justin Trudeau is doing “to move forward on the priorities that matter most to Canadians.” Shall I go on? One more. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “focused on moving forward,” following the news that he and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau separated.
With Trudeau(like most politicians), “moving forward” puts a positive spin on the stuff that matters, like pipelines. Not that anyone has been fooled with his “sunny ways.” He’s a caricature of a Disney prince – youthful, charming, performative and superficial. Rita Panahi of SkyNews called him a “neomarxist Ken Doll.” Instead of constantly moving forward, Justin, maybe it’s time to move on.
