Accurate language makes a difference
Iwanted to make some comments on the use of language in our everyday lives and our political landscape.
As a learner of English as my second language, I have paid attention to the meaning of words ever since I came to the United States at age 12. I had to learn words, sentences and idiomatic expressions so I could assimilate and connect seamlessly with my peer group of junior high school students and friends. I remember going over words and sentences I had heard throughout the day as I walked home from school. As a young student, and later in life, I spent much time analyzing the meaning of words, their roots and how these words can be descriptive or paint a picture.
One of the words that continues to puzzle me is the interpretation of the word “liberal.”
The dictionary indicates the word comes from the Latin root “liber” — meaning free.
America is a free country, so I would imagine everyone who lives here is a liberal.
However, the term, particularly in the political arena, has been denigrated to mean something unpatriotic or outside the mainstream of American life. A “bleeding heart liberal” is a term I have heard to dismiss an individual’s feeling of compassion or empathy for their fellow humans.
Take the word “conservative” as another example of the misuse of a term. I spent 30 years in the museum profession, where we talk about conservation as a way of preserving cultural heritage in works of art, history or the natural sciences. Conservators are professionals who are concerned with preserving and restoring cultural objects, many times reflecting a country’s patrimony.
However, the dictionary defines a conservative as someone who is “averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values.” Being averse to change doesn’t allow for progress or for the evolution of humanity.
If you follow the dictionary’s definition of “conservative,” then the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is, most certainly, not a conservative move. The conversations regarding reversal of a woman’s right to determine what to do with her body, and potentially gay marriage, LGBQT rights and (not mentioned) interracial marriage are not conservative actions. As mentioned earlier, conservation is about retaining and protecting what is in place.
I would like to propose that instead of using the word “conservative” to describe those politicians and their followers who identify with that term, we use a more accurate word to describe their views and actions: I call them “regressives,” since conservative would really mean preservation and protection of the rights of the aforementioned groups and a respect for the diversity that exists in our society.
The dictionary defines “regressive” as “becoming less advanced, returning to a former or less developed state.” This definition more closely describes and defines the recent actions of the Supreme Court, the anti-abortion activists (who call themselves pro-life), and the anti-gay and anti-LGBTQ communities.
Let’s fix language to accurately describe these groups: Liberals are those of us who love freedom and liberty. Regressives are those who want to go backward.
Stuart Ashman has lived in Santa Fe for over 40 years serving as a cultural leader for multiple organizations. He was Cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Cultural A≠airs and most recently, CEO of the International Folk Art Market.