As a writer, ghostwriter, proofreader, copy editor, book editor, curriculum editor, and English tutor, words have long been the tools of my trade. Words are, of course, the crucial tools of our communication. Words are like knives; they’re neutral; they pose no danger until wielded by a human hand—or mouth. Any word can lie quietly and innocently on an unobtrusive sheet of paper. But a clever wordsmith can skillfully—or cunningly—wield that word as an implement of peace—or as a weapon of mass destruction.
But even greater than the power of the written word is that of spoken words. Maya Angelou keenly observed that “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” As a decades-long member of the far-right, I became intimately familiar with the deeper, visceral-but-vague meaning infused in—and imposed upon—one particular word: liberal (or its abbreviated derivative, “lib”).
The Ultimate Swearword
For an ultra-conservative (I likely don’t need the modifier “ultra,” because in the current version of the Republican Party, anyone who isn’t ultra isn’t Republican), the ultimate swearword, the filthiest slur one can attach to a fellow human being, is liberal. For "conservatives," expressing the term correctly requires some practice. One’s lips must be pulled back a bit, exposing the central incisors, rather like a snarling dog staring down a smelly skunk. And, given the venomous rancor expected, a bit of drool is appropriate and to be expected. One’s eyes, too, must narrow to express the level of one’s contempt. Also, if clean water is available nearby, the final act is, of course, to rinse one’s mouth and expectorate vigorously.
One can be a greedy, selfish, lying, cheating, manipulating, bullying, adulterous, mean-spirited, misogynistic, hypocritical rapist and would-be dictator—as is the man who was elected to be our nation’s 45th president—but just don’t be a liberal.
One can be a greedy, selfish, lying, cheating, manipulating, bullying, adulterous, mean-spirited, misogynistic, hypocritical rapist and would-be dictator—as is the man who was elected to be our nation’s 45th president—but just don’t be a liberal.
In its purest, simplest sense, liberal means generous. Generous is a word with a long history of positive associations. Even among “conservatives,” all but the most Scrooge-like are likely to approve of generosity. But that meaning of liberal is lost on today's "conservatives."
What Does Politically Liberal Mean?
So, ask a typical modern-day “conservative” to define politically liberal and observe the blank stare, the same ignorant gape seen when one of them is asked to define “woke,” or “politically correct.” These inherently neutral words have been infused with a toxin ten times more potent than cobra venom—despite the inability of those wielding them to define them. (If you doubt this, call a Trump-loving “conservative” a liberal and watch his visceral, reflexive response. You’d raise less rancor if you called him a “moth__fuc___ pansy.”)
And that, finally, brings me to my point. A new Washington Post poll found that if the 2020 presidential election were to be re-run today—as is likely to be the case in a little more than a year—Donald Trump—the greedy, selfish, lying, cheating, manipulating, bullying, adulterous, mean-spirited, misogynistic, hypocritical rapist and would-be dictator—would trounce Joe Biden, the liberal. Oh, the power of that one abused and misunderstood little word.