image courtesy of wikipedia.org
As a writer, words are my tools, and I’ve produced many essays about them as subjects in themselves. So, when a friend sent me an article about the Sierra Club’s Equity Language Guide, I was curious. Cut from The Atlantic Monthly in 2023, and written by George Parker, the article catalogued euphemisms for acceptable discourse.
For example, the phrase people of color is no longer acceptable. Marginalized people is preferred. Someone convicted of a crime is no longer called a felon. Instead, that individual is a justice-involved person.
Having compiled his list, Parker proceeded to craft a paragraph comprised of these new synonyms. For me, the message read as undecipherable and might have been the remains of a secret code from World War II.
I have the same difficulty with gender-neutral pronouns. I’m reading a novel where the central character is a transgender detective. I admit to being mystified when I read: “They decided on a place to meet, but they objected, and so they met at the local bar.”
Today, my town’s newspaper reported on the city’s new deflection program. Having never heard the term, I stopped to read the article. As it turns out, the program isn’t new. The word deflection is. Why rehabilitation gave offense, I do not know.
I wish people were as sensitive to truth as they are to political correctness. Frankly, I have trouble loving people who spread misinformation because they applaud the message. To err is human. I know. The mind finds it easier to accept what it likes than what it doesn’t. For example, too many of us reject the usefulness of vaccines but accept astrology and the efficacy of prayer.
With these thoughts in mind, I’ve made a pair of resolutions for the New Year. First, I pledge never to sacrifice clarity for the sake of political correctness. Second, my intolerance for falsehood extends to myself. If you catch me in an error, I will thank you.
The truth is out there. In 2026, let us vow to keep sight of it.
