English is my second language. Unlike the native speakers who learn it from birth by osmosis, I learned it the hard way – in classroom settings. In other words, for each new vocabulary I was about to add, my brain had no prior exposure to it. In the case of each new verb, I had no choice but to learn it by rote memory. For example, it goes like this for “wake:”
- “wake” (present tense)
- “woke” (past tense)
- “have waken” (past participle)
I began using English in my everyday life at age 23 in the U.S.A. For full comprehension, I relied heavily on my native tongue – whose origin has zero relationships to the English language. Today, although it may sound smooth to others as if I were a native speaker, the fact is that I am not. So, when I hear a word used in a form that is different from how I had learned it, my brain gets confused. Such is the word “woke,” used as an adjective instead of a verb.
It is not just the word usage that has become common in recent years but the entire shift in the American culture associated with “wokeness” that has been confusing to me. It has created a case of major cognitive dissonance. In other words, what I always believed about America has been turned upside down.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “woke” is defined as: “… alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice.” The implication is that such situations are rampant in society. Personally, as a minority, no less, I have been unable to relate to such a “woke” concept.
In the June 12, 2021 issue of the Daily Signal, I came across an article by Victor Davis Hanson, “This isn’t your father’s left-wing revolution.” The author summed up the cultural shift so aptly in just four words:
They are “the Man.”
“They” are today’s powers that be on the Far Left who, collectively, have become the force behind the major cultural shift at the highest levels of academia, industries, media, government, and even military. With VDH’s explanation, the strangeness of the “woke” culture all began to make sense to me, finally. The problem remains, however, in that “wokeness” (1) makes no logical sense, (2) ignores our constitutional rights as American citizens, and (3) is enabling the Far Left to brainwash our children in its way of thinking, just as Mao Zedong did in Marxist China, without parental consent, which is criminal.
They are constantly inventing new words that must replace the old, to be politically correct. Those who do not acquiesce are ostracized. Today’s American society feels like a major Marxist experiment, run by a bunch of psychiatric-asylum escapees, who – with zero moral compass – believe that they are responsible for controlling others’ minds, words, and behaviors. Sadly, America has become the country of my childhood dreams no more.
I came to the U.S.A. because I believed that it was the land of the free, based on the philosophy of the Founding Fathers – my fellow human beings that I respect and admire immensely – where each of our individual rights is protected by the Constitution. I dreamed of coming to America because I believed our children, grandchildren, and descendants should be able to live in freedom as well. Who could have predicted that the founding philosophy of our country – which protects individual life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of all its citizens regardless of race, creed, or national origin – could possibly become at risk? But here we are. In my humble opinion, only those with nefarious intent – such as Marxists – would think to destroy it.
Those on the Far Left are choosing to ignore the historical sacrifices made by our predecessors, especially those who had paid with their own precious lives to give freedom to us all, even including those who are creating the “woke” society today. How disrespectful and sad!
The “woke” culture is actively destroying the concept of “We the People” and the Constitution of the United States that help protect us all. Those Far-Left leaders have the audacity to appoint themselves as the arbiters of their own interpretations of right and wrong; and to cancel anyone who disagrees with them politically, taking away their livelihood – because they can – and getting away with it without any legal repercussions. For now, at least.
What comes next in the U.S.A.? Based on the history of Marxist countries, loss of freedom, followed by murder of millions of people. If you think I am exaggerating, do your own research to verify. Remember, you are endowed with a brain to think for yourself.
Loss of freedom is already happening in the U.S.A. Mass murder would not be too far off if “We the People” don’t wake up to this reality and stand up against it. As for me as a grateful, naturalized American, I stand with Patrick Henry: “Give me liberty, or give me death.”
