What Do You Mean By That?
by Randy Stapilus
October 2019.
368 pages. Softbound. ISBN 978-0-945648-30-7 Price $18.95.
“Words matter. Stories matter. Context matters. These three facts should be self- evident, but are increasingly blurred through lenses of political partisanship. This is not a glossary of political terms, but it is a great introduction to how our views on issues-and even certain words themselves-can lead to our own isolation from one another as Americans.” – Former ambassador and member of Congress Tony Hall
“In a world where words often do not mean what we assume, Stapilus offers us a treasure-trove of help. The hope is that even if we can’t be on the same page, perhaps we can find our way toward coherent conversation by a common vocabulary.” – Wm Paul Young, author The Shack, Cross Roads, Eve and Lies We Believe About God
And the words we use often mean something different to someone else than they do to us.
The failure to consider the meaning of what we say is a problem, because if the words had been considered more carefully, some personal ideas might not have come out – or been formed – the way they were.
There’s been a great deal of talk in the last decade and more about the abuse of facts, or of purported facts: Simply lying about facts has become increasingly flagrant, to the point of mass invention of supposed quotes. (A friend has developed a website devoted to correcting fictitious attribution of often well-known quotes.) The poisoned common well of information is serious trouble for a society that purports to work together in self-government.
But the trashing of words … many of the most basic words in our political language … makes the matter much worse. We rapidly find that we speak in practice not in a common American English but, often, in separate tongues, one for the “red,” one for the “blue.”
So here’s the personal introduction: As a writer, and as writer about politics, I’m sick and tired of it. Consider what follows a call for restoring a common language and concept about our politics – not similarity of judgment, but at least a common line of communication.
What do people mean when they say:
Abolish ICE
Alternative facts
Alt-right
America First
Anti-Semitism
Anti-trust
Anti-vaxx
Authoritarian
Big government/statism
Christian
Christian nation
Climate change
Collusion
Constitution
Corruption
Coup
Courts
Credentialism
Cuckservative
Cultural Marxism
Death tax
Deep state
Democracy and republic
Derangement syndrome
Diversity/multiculturalism
Elites
Enemy of the people
Energy exploration
Entitlements
Evangelical
Fake news
Family values
Fash
Feminist
Fetal personhood
Fundamentalism
Gay marriage
Green New Deal
Homeless
Human rights
Identity politics/intersectionality
Illegal aliens
Income share agreement
Income redistribution
Infrastructure
Integralism
Liberal
Libertarian
Liberty-minded
Nationalism
Neocon
Nothing matters
Overton window
Owning the libs
Patriot
Personal responsibility
Police brutality
Politically correct
Politically motivated
Politician
Populist
Pro-life/pro-choice
Proper role of government
Q-anon
Rights
Secular humanism
Sexual harassment
Socialism
Sovereign citizen
Swamp
Tariff
Terrorism
Trade war
Treason
Underachiever
Voter fraud
Wall
Welfare/welfare state
What they deserve
White privilege
Wokeness
. . . and many, many more
Also on Amazon.com (soon)
What Do You Mean By That?, by Randy Stapilus. October 2019. 368 pages. Softbound. ISBN 978-0-945648-30-7 Price $18.95.