Rewrite the Left’s Language Dictionary

By Anne Doherty

It’s no news that leftists, who tend toward the creative as a personality description, manipulate language to promote their agendas, while conservatives, who lean toward conscientiousness, fall into using leftist vocabulary simply because it feels less confrontational to do so.  

Nationwide, leftists have now expanded their language dictionary to include words that mess with our fundamental self-perception. As a hypnotherapist, I know that language matters. Words should validate the human experience, not deny it. I’m not alone in thinking the left’s vocabulary power grab has become dangerous to society’s mental health. After all, if we’re required to call a person with xy chromosomes a “woman,” it does more than rob us of free speech. We’re on the verge of having to say “up” is “down” or “alive” is “dead.”

How to stop?  First, use words that directly define what you’re talking about. Second, drop the leftist euphemisms and, if you hear one, correct it. Third, wherever possible, use positive constructions over negative.

Using positive over negative basically means avoiding the adverb “not” in your sentence structure. Style books have long cited negative construction as contributing to weak communication. For example, saying “I don’t want gender-affirming care in schools” is ineffective for two reasons: first, it emphasizes the euphemism, justifying its usage, and second, it fails to present a picture of the speaker’s intention. 

As for using straight-forward vocabulary in an age where dictionaries are embracing woke, it’s become essential to preserve basic common sense. Here is an all too short list of leftist euphemisms in statements followed by questions that redefine each term. The theory here is to regain control over the definition by feigning ignorance. 

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Legal status 

 

“I’m raising money for the homeless.” How noble! Do you mean drug-addicts or transients?  

"I’m looking for an undocumented nanny.” Do you mean a woman who is in the US illegally?  I thought nannies were trained in their field. Are you talking about a woman who can read and write?  

“My son is engaged to a dreamer.” Is she absent minded - or do you mean she’s a child of illegal aliens?

“I support immigration reform.”  So do I. Do you mean we should have strong borders?

“No, I mean we should have open borders.”  How does that work? If a border is open, does that mean it has holes in it? Open borders sounds like no borders to me. 

Sexual terms

 

I’m Pro-life so I think women ought to have the right to choose.” Choose what exactly? Do you mean you are pro-abortion? Or do you mean you are pro-adoption? Or pro-single mothers?  

“I think Reproductive Health and Gender-affirming Care is important to have in schools.”  Do you mean gender-altering procedures? Do you think children should have medical procedures or take hormones while schools keep parents ignorant? Do you think minor children should be allowed to make permanent changes to their health and well-being?

“They are a woman.”  Do you mean he is male (human with xy chromosomes) masking as a female (human with xx chromosomes)?

“He’s a cisgender" man.” Do you mean he’s a heterosexual male? (FYI, Latin root buffs, “gender activists” claim “cis” means “on one side” and “trans” means “on the other.” But that makes no sense - as “trans” in “transgender” means “completely changed” as in “transform” and the “cis” root actually means “to cut or to kill” as in “scissors” or “homicide.” 

“There are 136 genders.”  Do you mean terms that describe how men and women can have sex?  Or do some of those terms describe individuals with gender dysphoria? 

 
“She is a trans woman.”  Do you mean he is man (person with xy chromosomes) who has had surgery or taken hormones to appear like a woman? Does he have gender dysphoria? 

Race

“I’m an Anti-racist.” Do you think that people should have advantages according to the color of their skin? Isn’t that racist?  

“I believe in fairness and social justice.” Do you believe in the redistribution of wealth? How is that unfair to people who make wealth?  Do you believe people should have advantages based on their social status or the color of their skin?  Isn’t that unjust?

Environment

“The climate crisis is affecting the collective.”  Do you mean that weather affects people? 

 

“Energy needs to be sustainable.”  Sustainable in what way? Do you mean energy costs should be affordable? That energy needs to be efficient? Or do you mean it should be clean? 

 

General

 

“The electoral college is unfair because we live in a democracy.” Do you mean we live in a representative republic? 

 

“I’m a Progressive.”  Do you mean you’re socialist? A leftist? A communist?

 

“The poor have a right to social programs.”  Do you mean the poor have access to services funded by tax payers? 

 

“Changing the meaning of my words is a micro-aggression.” Do you believe that ignorance should be a crime?