Words Matter: How Language Shapes Our Politics
More Than Just Semantics
In today’s political landscape, words don’t just convey ideas—they shape them. A term like “freedom” or “woke” can inspire pride in one group and provoke outrage in another. When words are used without clarity—or twisted to serve a political agenda—they can end conversations instead of starting them.
Certain terms have become emotionally loaded, weaponized for quick wins in the culture war rather than meaningful discussion. But if we want to repair our fractured politics, we need to stop and ask: What do these words really mean? Who gets to define them? And what’s lost when we don’t?
Let’s take a closer look at four words—woke, socialism, freedom, and patriotism—and unpack how they’re being used, misused, and misunderstood in today’s political conversation.
Woke: From Awareness to Weapon
Original meaning: In Black communities, “woke” originally meant staying alert to racial injustice, police violence, and systemic inequality—a moral vigilance rooted in lived experience.
How it’s used now: Today, “woke” is often used as a pejorative by conservatives to mock or dismiss progressive values and social movements.
Example: A school updating its curriculum to include more diverse authors is criticized for “pushing a woke agenda,” rather than fostering inclusion.
Left vs. Right:
Left: A call for awareness, justice, and inclusion—though some on the Left now avoid the term due to backlash.
Right: A catch-all insult for progressive culture, identity politics, or perceived overreach in social norms.
Why it matters: When “woke” is reduced to a punchline, it prevents real conversations about race, gender, or inequality. Worse, it creates a climate where acknowledging injustice is treated as more dangerous than the injustice itself.
Socialism: A Rorschach Test
Original meaning: A political and economic system advocating for collective or government ownership of key industries. In practice, it exists on a spectrum—from authoritarian models to democratic systems that mix markets with strong social programs.
How it’s used now: “Socialism” is frequently used by critics on the Right to label everything from the Affordable Care Act to student loan forgiveness—even when those programs exist comfortably within a capitalist economy.
Example: Universal healthcare in Canada is often dismissed in the U.S. as “socialist,” even though it functions within a broadly capitalist system.
Left vs. Right:
Left: Democratic socialism as a tool for equity—investing in people through healthcare, education, and public infrastructure.
Right: A warning label implying state control, high taxes, and a loss of individual freedom.
Why it matters: When “socialism” is used as a scare word, it discourages honest policy debate. Equating any public investment with tyranny erases the vast and successful middle ground that exists in most of the developed world.
Freedom: Whose Liberty Counts?
Original meaning: The foundation of American identity—freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and personal choice.
How it’s used now: “Freedom” is often invoked to defend personal choice, but inconsistently. It may be used to resist public health measures or regulations, while simultaneously supporting restrictions on voting, books, or bodily autonomy.
Example: Refusing to wear a mask during a public health crisis is defended as “freedom,” while banning drag shows or reproductive care is also framed as defending “freedom.”
Left vs. Right:
Left: Freedom to live safely, access healthcare, marry who you love, and participate fully in society.
Right: Freedom from government mandates, taxes, and perceived moral imposition.
Why it matters: Freedom should be a shared value, but it often becomes a zero-sum game. When one group’s “freedom” curtails another’s rights, we’re no longer talking about liberty—we’re talking about control.
Patriotism: Loyalty vs. Love of Country
Original meaning: Pride in one’s country and a belief in its potential. True patriotism involves both celebrating national strengths and acknowledging its flaws.
How it’s used now: “Patriotism” is sometimes equated with unquestioning loyalty to symbols—the flag, the military, traditional narratives. Critics of government policy are often painted as un-American.
Example: NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police violence were labeled “unpatriotic,” despite acting on deeply held beliefs about justice.
Left vs. Right:
Left: Patriotism means holding your country accountable, pushing it to live up to its ideals.
Right: Patriotism means honoring tradition, national pride, and unity—even when that means avoiding critique.
Why it matters: When patriotism is used to demand silence or conformity, it weakens democracy. True love of country requires the courage to challenge it when necessary—not out of contempt, but out of hope.
The Stakes of Lazy Language
In a healthy democracy, words like “woke,” “socialism,” “freedom,” and “patriotism” should invite discussion, not shut it down. But in our current climate, they’re often used to signal tribal loyalty or end debates before they begin.
The next time you hear one of these terms, try asking:
What does this person really mean?
Is the word being used to clarify—or to inflame?
Are we having an honest discussion, or hiding behind buzzwords?
Words are powerful. If we want to fix what’s broken, we have to start with how we talk about it. Because until we agree on what we’re saying, we can’t begin to understand one another—let alone find common ground.