That's What They Say

The Insidious Nature of The Big Lie

Ward Politician Haranguing Voters by Radio, 1922 O A Schulz Wikimedia Commons

Hello, Friend,

Words have power. They can elevate or depress. They can illuminate or obfuscate. They can soothe or inflame. They can inspire or incite. They can comfort or disturb. People who seek power for power’s sake understand the power of words, the complexities of language, and the ways in which words can be used to manipulate the masses. If you look at the overarching messaging of the far right at this moment, you will find that they focus relentlessly on a handful of key words, phrases, and concepts and in doing so attempt to alter their meanings. They twist words into strange new shapes, redefining them in the minds of their followers. The Big Lie: say anything no matter how absurd often enough and with enough conviction and people will believe it is true. It is the strategy of authoritarians, it is Orwellian, and it is highly effective. By altering the meaning of words through propaganda, you can render them meaningless.

Today, I thought we’d look at a few words and phrases and their actual meanings versus the twisted meanings being ascribed to them.

Woke

In the 1930s, in African American communities in America, the phrase ‘stay woke’ meant remaining alert and aware of the socio-political realities within their communities. In 2010, in the US, stay woke or woke was adopted by other marginalized communities and liberal activists. Woke in this context meaning awake or aware and not complacent or complicit.

The right has co-opted this word and used it so prolifically and in so many disparate contexts that it has lost much of the original meaning. Woke as a verb has been turned into woke as an adjective and attached to any liberal ideas they want to demean or discredit. The ‘woke mind virus’* is meant to suggest Democratic voters are irrational or delusional. This is particularly fascinating since this phrase is being used to illicit outrage among Republican voters.

"Words are the source of misunderstandings"

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

DEI

An acronym for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, DEI refers to efforts to address the inequities in education, business, and society. As we reach towards a more fair, inclusive, and expansive approach, we address the need for a wider representation of the entirety of our population. This requires an awareness of the significant challenges many people face that create an uneven playing field, the inequities baked into the systems of our society, and the need to open up opportunities to everyone. DEI attempts to assure that no one is excluded on the basis of their race, age, religion, physical challenges, class, gender, or sexual orientation-offering everyone opportunity and access. It is not a dismissal of merit, by widening the net it raises the bar, elevates the discourse, and improves overall outcomes through providing a diversity of voices, perspectives, talents, and skills.

The right has glommed onto this concept with a singular ferocity. Using fear of ‘the other’ they suggest that DEI programs allow less qualified people to succeed at the expense of more qualified people. This, of course, comes down to wealthy white males being forced to compete on a more even playing field with everyone else. The suggestion underlying their use of ‘DEI’ in a negative context is that anyone who is not a wealthy white male who achieves any level of success must not be as qualified or capable. It is, of course, utter tripe, but it plays on the fears of poor and middle-class white people allowing them to blame minorities and immigrants for their struggles, instead of the wealthy white males who have been consolidating their wealth and power while dividing the rest of us. The most interesting part of this particular Big Lie is how it diverts attention from the decades of advantage and privilege enjoyed by wealthy white men. One only need look at the parade of incompetent and unqualified mostly wealthy white male loyalists being assembled by the incoming administration, or even to the incompetent, unqualified, and irrational person poised to once again sit in the oval office and lead our nation, to see the ways in which the deck is stacked in favor of the wealthy white male.

Liberal

adjective

1. willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own; open to new ideas.

2. relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.

noun

1. a supporter of policies that are socially progressive and promote social welfare.

2. a supporter of a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.

(Source: Google Dictionary)

A liberal is a person who is open minded, curious, and inclusive. They are interested in a government that is focused on improving the lives of their citizens. The use of the word liberal (or lib) in a derogatory sense is designed to dehumanize and denigrate. This pitting of people with opposing views against each other is a highly effective way of dividing and conquering people through ‘othering.’ Many of those who revel in ‘owning the libs’ are the beneficiaries of liberal policies. When they discover that these things on which they rely like healthcare, education, labor laws, clean air and water, food safety, Welfare, Social Security, and Medicare are under threat by the politicians they supported, they are going to be confused and angry. Ultimately, by ‘owning the libs’ they are owning themselves while allowing the politicians who duped them to continue consolidating power and resources. The joke, as they say, is on them, but it is tragicomical with an emphasis on tragedy for all of us.

Selling him another gold brick, 1920 Rollin Kirby Public Doman Wikimedia Commons

If you listen closely to the rhetoric of the right you will begin to see the ways in which they change the meanings of words and phrases through a subtle and nuanced manipulation of language. Zuckerberg did that earlier this week when he falsely equated the idea of masculinity as being toxic or bad with the more specific concept of toxic masculinity. His call for more masculine energy (he used the word aggressive) in the workplace was coded language. By suggesting masculine energy is aggressive and therefore strong, he is implying feminine energy is passive and therefore weak. Pete Hegsheth decried the difference between equity and equality at his hearing yesterday, suggesting equity as applied to the military was a bad thing. This is a parsing of language, because equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. What, exactly, is wrong with that? Equity in society is the idea that everyone should have equal access and opportunity, equality means everyone should be treated the same. By denying the realities of the spectrum of human experience that equity addresses, he is inferring that they don’t exist. He is also suggesting that there is a hierarchy of competence and worthiness with wealthy white males at the top.

A member of my extended family began referring to illegal immigrants as ‘the illegals’ over the course of the past few years. We were connected through the toxic wasteland of Meta where they were being bombarded with and sharing extreme right-wing propaganda on a regular basis. Note the difference in language here, because calling other people illegals strips them of their humanity. They are terrified of ‘the illegals’ and whatever threat they imagine they pose, yet they live in one of the whitest and wealthiest areas in the country, far from any borders. Irrational, outraged, and afraid, they have been infected with the messaging of The Big Lie and it has fundamentally altered them and millions of people like them.

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”

1984, George Orwell

In removing the guardrails that at the very least labeled fake news on social media sites, the proliferation of more of the same infectious toxicity will be unfettered. Watching people I love lose their basic humanity has been shocking and heartbreaking. The unbridled anger is the strangest part; none of these people struggle financially or socially or in any perceptible way.

Words have power. As we move into this new paradigm, it is going to be important that we listen carefully not just to the outrageous things being said, but to the subtle ways in which these thoughts are arranged and how that impacts and alters the meanings of words and phrases.

If words lose their meanings, then truth loses meaning, and that is a slippery slope, indeed.

* This ‘woke mind virus’ concept is also applied to what is seen as excessive policing of language or behavior by liberals, specifically the perceived curtailing of ‘free speech.’ I’ll dig into this more at a later date because it is admittedly complicated.

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Have some insights or observations to share? Let’s talk in the comments! By shining a light on some of this stuff, we can find clarity and perhaps explore ways to combat it. After all, many of us are writers! Who better to divert The Big Lie with The Bigger Truth?

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