Absent of an actual bloodbath, which Donnie* Trump amplified and telegraphed was coming if he lost, we still have a semi-functional democracy. If it comes down to people voting, motivating people to vote is going to super important. That involves selling people, something Donnie is very experienced with from his pre-president businesses. Democrats are not losing on issues; they are losing in the meme wars. The pro-democracy media must be smarter about the words they use.
As author or Deciphering the English Code, a book which traces English back the time we transitioned from body-sign language to spoken language, I herein present unique ways of understanding the way certain very important words we will be using during this battle of words will land and stick in the human psyche. Trump has turned elections into a popularity contest. We must stop that trend. Global tensions demand a steady hand.
CHOOSE or DECIDE
The proper word is “decide”. “cide” is the univeral word for killing, – as in homocide and suicide. The act of deciding involves killing off the other potential choices. That means the other choices are defeated and dead. With a choice, you can always choose again. Choosing is a playful word. What’s your choice, sir? Choosing Biden or Trump lands in a less serious spot in the human psyche that deciding. So this is not the time for media to color the 2024 elections as a choice, or say Americans must choose.
Americans have a decision to make. Americans must decide.
- Wharton 1968. We shared a class at Wharton called International Finance. When I aksed a friend why he missed so many classes, he rubbed his fingers together to signify dollar bills, and said “don’t you worry about Donnie”. His inner circle still refer to him as Donnie sometimes. Donnie has a childish gangstery sound that cannot land well with moderate Americans.
THE ENGLISH CODE 