OPINION:
Second of two parts
The left is rewriting our history and our language. Too often, Republicans seem more than willing to help them by adopting their lexicon. Previously, we explored several words and phrases no Republican should use. Here are a few more terms that should be stricken from our discourse through the exercise of discipline and common sense. You can’t protect American freedom or beat the left by speaking their language.
Reproductive health
In fairness, few Republicans use this one, but it warrants inclusion. This is the sanitized way of talking about abortion. It should be viewed as an affront to all women that Democrats view abortion as health care. Abortion is the destruction of a human life under the guise of a fictitious right to terminate the life of another. Many Americans disagree about when human rights attach to an unborn child. Still, given that as of 2020, only about 1% of all abortions in the U.S. are performed to protect the life of the mother, the use of this term as a catch-all is deliberately deceptive. Killing a human baby is what it is, and using sterile terms to describe abortion disrespects both parent and child.
Criminal justice reform
Anyone who lives in a state with a top prosecutor backed by George Soros or Mark Zuckerberg in office knows this term now means prioritizing criminals at the expense of the innocent amid a crime wave. Everywhere the left’s brand of criminal justice reform has been attempted, it has failed spectacularly and with deadly results. Policies like no cash bail eliminate judicial discretion and are a direct attack on the American justice system. Selective prosecution or downgrading offenses to keep criminals out of jail has led to outright lawlessness. There are commonsense reform efforts like making education and mental health support more available to help prevent recidivism. But the term is now synonymous with policies that reduce or eliminate penalties for hundreds of crimes. Our conversation must refocus on public safety, rather than so-called criminal justice reform.
Fair share
Isn’t fairness great? Of course, everyone wants to be treated fairly, especially if they’re the ones who get to decide what’s fair and what’s not. Fairness is used by the left to justify a whole range of changes to public policy and our way of life, perhaps none more than wealth transfers from people who work to those who don’t and the ever-expanding bureaucracy that controls those resources. Whenever you hear “fair share,” watch out for your wallet, especially if you’re in the middle class. The left’s goal is to shower you with so much fairness that you’ll end up dependent on the government, with no personal or economic freedom to worry about. To the arbiters of the American lexicon, “fairness” is like equity and inclusion; it doesn’t really mean anything except handing more of what’s rightfully yours to the government. Republicans should know it is not grounded in the American formula for greatness.
Recreational marijuana
Yep, the left has even tried to redefine “recreation.” Going on a hike is recreation. Playing basketball is recreation. Popping 50% THC-laced gummy bears so you can be stoned off your rear end while you’re at work or school is not recreation. The marketers of marijuana found a brilliant way to equate doing drugs that cause a decrease in IQ, late-onset psychosis, depression, impairment of motor skills, and other negative effects with things like exercise. You’d never suggest that getting drunk is recreation. Still, suddenly even Republicans are embracing consumption of high-potency THC products as something as harmless as playing a round of golf. Americans need to wake up to the fact that legal drugs are not only becoming big business, but also that the Chinese are investing heavily to ensure as many Americans as possible are drug-addled. Call it what it is: legalizing drugs for profit.
Investment
This is an oldie but goody for the left. Whenever you hear the word “investment,” it means more of your money being transferred to government and more spending. The government already invests in too much, does too much, and does it all the most inefficient way possible. The return Americans see on their investment in government continues to plummet. It’s a sham. Republicans should have the courage to refocus spending to our top priorities and create efficiencies so Americans can invest more in themselves rather than in government. Invest in finding ways to do more with less of our money. Stop trying to con people into thinking government can spend its way to the solution to any problem.
Have a suggestion for Part 3? Find me on Twitter @Tom_Basile.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax and the author of “Tough Sell: Fighting the Media War in Iraq.” He served as an adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from 2003 to 2004.
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