On Names

Language, in its most essential roles, defines all meaningful verbal communication, and reflects the mind behind the words. If “progressive” is back in media-fashion as a parsing term to identify a meaningful sub-set of the left, why do we not see and hear “reactionary” to identify that political segment to the right of true conservatives?

The president and his most ardent, least compromising supporters are not conservatives, and true conservatives have never been fully on-board with Donald Trump. This administration, its chief, its most influential operatives, and the most outspoken contingent of its voters are reactionaries — in thought, word, policy, and belief systems. Why will the media not recognize this and use the language’s terminology most appropriate to the case in point?

Today’s America is not divided as much by its actual political differences as it is by the often incorrect names we call each other. If true conservatives could see the “reactionaries next door” properly and publicly identified, they might see their way clear to move toward the middle.