Words possess a certain kind of magic. When used skillfully and honestly, words rouse the spectrum of emotions and can incite action, for better or worse.
But, to me, the true magic of words comes from the unspoken societal agreement by and between those who use them and those who receive them of their common meaning; not just in a dusty dictionary, but in our everyday vernacular.
But what happens to a society when a side breaches that agreement?
We have seen the signs of an impending war on words within our political divide perpetuated by the left.
You may recall during Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, how Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, chided the nominee for misusing the phrase “sexual preference.” According to Hirono, Justice Coney Barrett should have used the phrase “sexual orientation” and concluded some bigoted motive behind an innocuous word choice.
“[Sexual preference] is used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice,” the senator declared. “It is not. Sexual orientation is a key part of a person’s identity.”
Justice Coney Barrett quickly apologized for what many believed was a distinction without a difference, which diffused the issue. But that fast apology may have inadvertently signaled the left that further escalation on this front could win battles in the culture war.
Escalation is just what we have seen recently on all cultural fronts.
Politically, President Joe Biden and the White House want the American people to believe that the definition of a “recession” that has commonly applied to past presidents should not apply to him. His administration put out a full-court press to educate you ignorant masses that a recession is not really two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
Fact-checkers covered for the change, noting that no one was changing a definition, but developing one.
The spin from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others was so dizzying that even NBC’s Chuck Todd accused her of “splitting hairs.” Imagine venturing so far afield that not even NBC News is willing to go along with you.
The issue has become so contentious, that term “recession” saw so many edits on Wikipedia that the site has suspended editing for the page until Aug 3.
Socially, basic definitions came under constant attack. Suddenly, no one knew what the word “woman” means. No less than now-Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson demurred when confronted with the question during her Senate confirmation hearing, citing her lack of medical knowledge.
But Justice Brown-Jackson was not the only figure on the left feigning ignorance. Many suspended their own sense of disbelief as collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas, a trans woman, won a national championship and was nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.
Not bad for someone who has only been a “woman” for a little over a year. It makes you wonder what all these naturally born women have been doing wrong for all these years.
Luckily, there is plenty of resistance to the left’s linguistic manipulation. Matt Walsh’s What Is a Woman? became a cultural wake-up call by raising awareness of the left’s fear of saying “young adult female” in response to his simple query.
And, young female athletes and their parents brought the NCAA to its senses by changing the rules for trans-athlete participation in women’s sports. Not to be undone, Merriam-Webster gave cover to the left by adding a secondary definition for “female” that included those “having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.”
Legally, actors on the left are trying to manipulate language to escape justice. In a filing late last week appealing a decision entered in favor of Project Veritas, lawyers for the New York Times argued that neither the word “deceptive” nor the word “verifiable” have a “precise meaning that is readily understood.”
This is a crucial issue that goes to the heart of Project Veritas’s argument that the New York Times defamed the organization. While fighting over terms and definition is nothing new in the legal arena, it is certainly noteworthy that the paper of record is arguing in favor of intentional ambiguity in their news reporting.
As the culture war rages on, remember that when words have no meaning, words can mean whatever you want. And if you can control the meaning of language, you possess the magic needed to change society.
Gene Berardelli is a street-smart trial attorney who, through his time as the Law Chair of the Republican Party in Brooklyn, New York, has developed a solid reputation as an election attorney successfully representing conservative candidates. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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