World War Words: Political fisticuffs over language in Kansas, U.S., puts liberals on defense

Questions about which words to use and what they mean have become political, writes opinion editor Clay Wirestone. (Getty Images)

What’s in a word?

As a writer, I think about words a lot. What they mean, what they signify, how they sound when combined with other words.

I enjoy words. But like most of our state and country today, words have become politicized. Look no further than retired assistant U.S. attorney Leon Patton, who testified in front of the Lenexa City Council last month about using the word “alien” to refer to undocumented immigrants.

“If you think that it’s somehow racist to use the word ‘alien,’ then I presume you got your education by sitting in movie theaters and watching movies about extraterrestrials,” Patton said. “Meanwhile, some of us get our education by sitting in courtrooms and by reading federal statutes.”

Although he later told Kansas Reflector editor Sherman Smith that “I sort of get it,” when talking about the term’s implications, I personally find such a strong reaction to word choice baffling. Language changes and evolves, and has since the beginning of time. The words we once used freely may go into the “forbidden” box. That doesn’t mean anyone has done anything good or bad, necessarily; it just means that tastes have changed.

Progressives worry about such overreactions these days. Perhaps it’s because of President Trump’s linguistic overflow, a constant stream of crude invective. Should they be talking like him? Perhaps it’s because of genuine concern about reaching a broader audience.

Nonetheless, moderate Democratic think tank Third Way just released a list of words that its says politicians should avoid using when talking to the general public.

You can read them all in the accompanying box below.

“We are putting a spotlight on the language we use that puts a wall between us and everyday people of all races, religions, and ethnicities,” the group writes. “These are words that people simply do not say, yet they hear them from Democrats.”

The list doesn’t appear to draw from any polling or research. As a longtime journalist, I’m reminded of “banned words” compilations that grizzled copy editors would pass around in decades past, harping on supposedly ungrammatical or illogical terms.

I don’t love many of the words, and Third Way may have a point. So did the grizzled copy editors! That being said, I’m not sure that studiously avoiding such terms will hand the magical keys to power to progressives. After all, Trump has conspicuously said whatever the heck he wanted. Do political consultants think that lawmakers policing their vocabulary more will improve the situation?

No, the real problem with these politically correct terms is that regular folks just don’t know what they mean. That leaves them open to misinterpretation and outright distortion by political opponents. (Remember “critical race theory”?)

If language has any point besides sounding pretty, it needs to communicate efficiently and clearly. That’s one of the reasons why journalists traditionally avoid language like “passed away” or “went on to his heavenly reward” in favor of the blunt: “he died.”

So yes, do that. But will using a random word from Third Way’s list – or trying to make people think about what they’re saying in the first place – doom democracy?

If so, we have far bigger problems than vocabulary.

Speaking of problems, Kansas legislators just banned some of the simplest words – pronouns – from state employees’ email signatures. That’s right, “he/him,” “she/her,” “they/them” and the like. The last time I checked, such language serves as basic building blocks of English sentences. Perhaps if lawmakers wrote more often, they would understand that.

But conservatives have decided that using such words in a signature block signifies an unacceptable embrace of “gender ideology.” Talk about ridiculous terms.

Including pronouns in an email signature block demonstrates sensitivity and support for transgender people. For today’s senselessly cruel rightwing ideologues, that counts as an unpardonable sin.

So the Kansas Legislature just banned the practice altogether.

The difference, then, between the left and right when it comes to disputed language? Liberals are trying to police themselves to appeal to a greater number of people. Conservatives are literally obliterating disfavored groups’ identities.

I’m not sure that using preferred language always makes a difference. But I know that listening does. And I know that allowing people to use the language they choose, to speak about what they want, can change the world.

What’s in a word? These days, a hell of a lot.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.