The meanings of words change. I find
this aspect of culture frustrating. If
you want a new word, why not just invent it?
Why change the meaning of a perfectly good word? Or, better yet, some person has probably
already invented a word for the idea you’re trying to express, so why not just
do a little digging in the dictionary or thesaurus and find out what it is? Dictionaries ought to be the arbiter in
this. But, given enough time,
dictionaries eventually bow to slang and pop culture, adding to or changing their
definitions. Eventually Urban
Dictionary bullies Noah Webster into giving up his lunch money.
Take the word “democracy” for instance. I used to think that democracy was plainly a
form of self-governance in which political power was distributed evenly among
the eligible voting citizens of a country.
It still is that. But it’s
becoming something more. Dictionary.com
offers a fourth definition: “political or societal equality; democratic spirit.” Adding the phrase “or societal” redirects the
meaning, away from strictly self-governance, and toward another horizon.
Social democracy is a common term in Europe, but less so
here. Social Democrats are just Socialists
who’ve grown uncomfortable with the failure of each of the world’s prior
socialist governments and so bristle at the association. It’s a fair question to ask whether they
should have instead, reasonably, grown uncomfortable with the idea of
socialism itself, but that’s another thread. “Progressives” are what we call American Socialists – er, Social Democrats; sorry. They also like to distinguish their designs for your life from those found in Marxism, preferring gradual change to the latter's sudden and violent class warfare.
Used in this way, democracy becomes synonymous with
equality. Now, there’s nothing wrong
with the word equality, mind you. It’s
perfectly precise on its own. But it’s
not punchy enough. Well, maybe it's not just that it lacks “punch.” Maybe it’s that equality is a
little too susceptible to retort. If Progressives speak openly about equality when referring to any status other than those
pertaining to civil rights, they might be confused for Socialists – which they are,
really, but don’t want to own. One way
around this is to make everything a civil right but here, too, is another idea
for a different day.
That’s where democracy comes in. Democracy is right up there with mom, apple
pie, and baseball. Our Founding Fathers
gave us democracy; democracy is in our blood, man! Who could possibly talk down about
democracy? Actually, our founders gave
us a republican democracy, with a constitution, and three branches of government
meant to keep each other in check. Once
again, though: different issue, another time.
As the meaning of democracy morphs, it’s worth noting that
it’s not an unguided slang or pop cultural force changing it. It’s being changed deliberately, like a rook being moved in a giant political chess match. If the Progressives' goal is a gradual societal pivot
toward socialism, revamping a term like democracy to mean equality is a pretty
effective device. Democracy is super punchy, and totally revered.
Unbelievably, we’re about to enter another election season. Yuck. I
predict you’ll hear the word democracy bandied about with far greater
frequency this Fall. When you do, ask
yourself whether the word is being re-defined for the purpose of political
rhetoric – whether the speaker really means “equality,” instead. Then ask yourself whether that particular application
of equality is an ideal you also value.
Meanwhile, I expect to be enjoying football season by
then. And by “football,” I mean
football.
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