Sticks and Stones and Brittle Bones

Words will never hurt you.

I lost count of how many times I was told that as a child, whenever mom or dad or a teacher or some other grown-up wanted me to keep a stiff upper lip.

They were lying, of course. Words can and do inflict injury. Even when they don’t sting, words are commonly used to distract and disorient and disable. Language used in this way is the most damaging of all.

If those who pass these days for Republican have their way, the coming year’s elections will be all about “wokeness.” Even instability in the nation’s banking system is laughably blamed on woke corporations whose bean counters must have taken their eyes off the ball. Gas stoves are going to be confiscated. Burgers will soon be off limits. Forget railroads and guns, it’s uteruses that need regulating. Same goes for books and drag shows.

Such nonsense is a telltale sign of the poverty of our current politics. It is also a crude yet entirely deliberate strategy on the part of our society’s royals to put commoners…