Sometimes when we talk about politics we communicate information: the tax rate, the retirement age, the size of the national debt. But sometimes we seem to be doing something else. We express ourselves through words, but what we’re really offering is a combination of purrs, growls, and waving flags: positive or negative sentiments and wishes of affiliation or disaffiliation with movements or individuals. In their new book The Politics of Language, Texas linguist David Beaver and Yale philosopher Jason Stanley (also a popular pundit and theorist of the alleged rise of fascism in America) claim that this aspect of our expressions, which they call resonance, is the essence not just of political language, but of all language — that “meaning” simply is a matter of resonance. Our words and sentences are not boxes that contain “contents” but tools we use to connect to others, to gain their support, or push them around, or hurt them. The Politics of Language is a truly impressive offering which synthesizes an enormous breadth of research to develop this ambitious new theory. And, in doing so, it preserves as though in amber a short, already-fading “vibe” of academic and cultural politics: the vibe of woke.
America is, despite its difficulties, a good country. Similarly, its military, though suffering under horrendous leadership, has some of the best people.
As a former editor of Popular Mechanics magazine, I’ve asked many scientists and tech entrepreneurs how they first fell in love with science and technology. Most mention stories that captivated them when they were young. For some, it was the classic science fiction of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, or Ursula Le Guin. Others fell under the spell of Star Wars or Star Trek. They were all drawn to the kind of speculative fiction that asked what sorts of worlds humans might be capable of building. Science fiction, at least in its pre-dystopian era, imbued American culture with the idea that anything was within humanity’s grasp. In turn, that spirit helped make high-tech breakthroughs possible by inspiring bright young misfits to pursue mastery of difficult fields. Companies like Apple and SpaceX might not exist today if not for the generations of nerds who grew up on Star Trek and now spend their lives trying to “make it so.”
It appears hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg’s enthusiasm for marijuana has gone up in smoke. The rapper sent shockwaves throughout the cannabis community by announcing on Instagram that he was “giving up smoke.” He’s been a longtime proponent of the dangerous narcotic but has taken a different stance on the herb in recent months. The announcement by Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., was unexpected.
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) took to social media Thursday evening after the House Ethics Committee released a scathing report about his potential federal crimes, calling politics and the report “dirty.” “What the ‘ethics committee’ did today was not part of due process, what they did was poison…the jury pool on my on going investigation with...
The Department of Education released a list of higher education and K-12 institutions that are under investigation for alleged shared ancestry violations Thursday as part of the Biden administration’s effort to address reports of rising discrimination in schools. “Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are–or are perceived...
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) cited a decades-old letter from Osama bin Laden that recently went viral in a call for social media reform Thursday. “[W]hen you look at social media, I have long said that we have to ban TikTok,” Haley, a 2024 GOP presidential primary candidate, said on Fox News Radio’s...
If Ukraine does not regain its legal, internationally recognized territory — in large part due to the West’s fecklessness — President Biden must think...