Tuesday, September 17, 2002

The American Heritage dictionary says that high school grads should know these words:

abjureequinoxinculcateoligarchysoliloquy
abrogateeuroinfrastructureomnipotentsubjugate
abstemiousevanescentinterpolateorthographysuffragist
acumenexpurgateironyoxidizesupercilious
antebellumfacetiousjejuneparabolatautology
auspiciousfatuouskineticparadigmtaxonomy
beliefecklesskowtowparametertectonic
bellicosefiduciarylaissez fairepecuniarytempestuous
bowdlerizefilibusterlexiconphotosynthesisthermodynamics
chicanerygameteloquaciousplagiarizetotalitarian
chromosomegauchelugubriousplasmaunctuous
churlishgerrymandermetamorphosispolymerusurp
circumlocutionhegemonymitosisprecipitousvacuous
circumnavigatehemoglobinmoietyquasarvehement
deciduoushomogeneousnanotechnologyquotidianvortex
deleterioushubrisnihilismrecapitulatewinnow
diffidenthypotenusenomenclaturereciprocalxenophobe
enervateimpeachnonsectarianreparationyeoman
enfranchiseincognitonotarizerespirationziggurat
epiphanyincontrovertibleobsequioussanguine 


(I count 99, but maybe I missed one.) I tried to classify these words politically.

Right-wing words: chromosome incontrovertible fiduciary laissez-faire nihilism totalitarian winnow

Left-wing words: antebellum bowdlerize enfranchise hegemony metamorphosis oligarchy paradigm photosynthesis recapitulate reparation suffragist xenophobe yeoman

Usable as right or left wing words: impeach subjugate usurp

George writes: "What's political about those words? There is nothing political about antebellum. The word oligarchy is political, but it doesn't represent a left-wing political system."

Antebellum is a word that left-wingers would use to make fun of white southerners. Right-wingers don't use the term. Likewise, only a left-winger would use the word paradigm. The word paradigm was popularized by leftist academics who want to deny that science has any objective reality.

Oligarchy is a term for a political system, but not one that anyone advocates. It is a term of left-wing derision.

George writes: "How could laissez-faire, nihilism, and totalitarian all be right-wing. Those are different philosophies."

Laissez-faire is right-wing because it suggests that there is some intellectual basis for just letting the rich get richer. Nihilism is a term of derision that a right-wing might use for people who lack fundamental values. Totalitarian is a description of communist governments, with the ideology removed.

The theory that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny was very popular with leftists because it proved evolution, equate humans with animals, and justified abortion. It has been discredited, but it is still in some textbooks.

Suffragist is a silly word for the list because no one uses it any more. It refers to women getting the vote, and leftists think that was one of the greatest things that ever happened. Likewise, bowdlerize, enfranchise, and hegemony are obscure left-wing terms.

No comments: