[Previous entry: "Feature of the Week"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "SherWright Scoop: The Next Swifty Ad"]

02/27/2005: "Moderate is a Verb"

Some months back SherWright was referenced by one of the popular blog sites as an example of a site for moderate advocacy. We were apparently selected for this honor due to high Google rankings for terms involving political moderation. Apparently they didn’t look to hard at the content on SherWright.com, though. I’m guessing they didn’t even look at the home page. Why do I think that? Because they described the political inclinations of our site as “wishy-washy.” I wonder if Rush or George or Donald would think the content devoted to them is “wishy-washy.” All of this points up a dilemma for any advocate of moderation. There are just too many people out there that think moderate means “neutral” or “uncommitted” or even “apathetic.” Apparently my conception of the meaning of the word is different from that of the rest of humanity. The crux of the problem is that everybody seems to think that when you type the word “moderate” you’re typing the adjective. When I’m typing it, I mean an entirely different word, so different it’s even pronounced differently. For me, “moderate” is a verb. “To moderate” means “to lessen extremeness.” (I’m also noticing that the verb meaning is listed in the dictionary first, before the adjective or noun meanings). If you understand that moderate is a verb, you understand why I’m spending time and money on this site. Right wing extremists are wielding enormous power, and that power seems to be growing. I’m absolutely convinced that if this power continues to grow it will be a disaster not only for me and the people I care about but also all Americans, and indeed all of humanity. While the extent of the disaster that would result from decades more of unchecked extreme right wing power can’t be predicted, there’s an outside chance that it could take out civilization as we know it. In the face of this level of risk, moderation as an adjective has no place. Moderation as a verb is our best hope - we need to check the power of extremists, not by substituting other extremists, but by bringing US politics back to common sense reality. It’s clear to me that I face an important choice – a choice in how the word that serves as the foundation for this site is to be pronounced. Is it to be the long a of the verb or the short a of the noun or adjective? It can no longer be both – there is too great an opportunity for confusion. If this site is to truly stand up against extremism, each chance visitor must be crystal clear where it stands. There can be only one answer – SherWright.com exists to oppose the extreme right wing to the maximum extent any talent in my possession permits, using every tool and weapon they provide, be they logic, inspiration, or out and out mockery. Thus, I’ll be looking at every page of the site and purging any content that would imply that the extreme right wing does not deserve every bit of derision we can muster. That’s not a moderate act, but, in the face of risk to all of civilization, it is a moderating act.