By Jane Carrell -
Three terms have arisen in the immediate pre- and post-Covid environment, and they have nothing to do with viruses. I ask the pardon of those who pay attention to such cultural landmarks, but I bet most of us are unaware of these terms.
First, “Virtue Signalling”: it’s something politicians love to do. Consider the Democrat congressional delegation, which knelt at the Capitol for the 8 minutes and 46 seconds George Floyd was callously knelt on by a Minneapolis policeman. Quite ironically, it turns out that the stoles the delegation wore around their necks signify the Asante tribe, which had made a business of selling African slaves to the English and Dutch for 200+ years.
Corporations also like to virtue signal. The larger the conglomerate, the more eagerly it signals. One can only assume NFL execs leaned hard on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for saying, “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States.” He had made that statement many times, but in the Black Lives Matter moment in history, it became a bigoted statement. How does that happen?
Next, consider the term “woke” – an abbreviation meaning “awakened.” In Britain, Spiked Online Editor Brendan O’Neill said protestors in Britain smashing statues “looked to me like the woke-Taliban.” You may recall that in 2001, the Taliban dynamited statues of Buddha across Afghanistan, destroying that nation’s 1700-year old cultural heritage.
Finally, you’ll hear more about “cancel culture.” That’s where a public figure, a company executive, or simply a mind-his-own-business university professor utters some phrase that “triggers” (another term – pretty self-explanatory) the BLM movement or other woke progressives, and he or she MUST LOSE HIS JOB, or his or her company must be boycotted. Hence, a New York Times editor lost his job for publishing an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) calling for a military response to rioters. UCLA Professor Gordon Klein was suspended for refusing to “cancel, shorten or grade the final for his taxation course differently for black students.” An Indiana priest, Father Rothrock, was suspended for uncomplimentary references to Black Lives Matter ("They are wolves in wolves clothing"). Shades of Stalin or Mao!
Three terms, Virtue Signaling, Woke and Cancel Culture speak to a loss of freedom and respect for truth in this great nation. I don’t think Americans will put up with it for much longer.
Jane Ryan Carrell grew up in Skokie, a graduate of Loyola University of New Orleans and Brown University. She has written on topics including election fraud, right-to-life, and climate change. She serves on the board of the Illinois Conservative Union.
