Are you woke? That’s the question a friend of mine asked me last week after reading a few of my recent columns. The friend assumed I would answer “yes,” but I hesitated. What exactly does woke mean? If you think of yourself as an objective person, do you want to be woke? And who decides what types of beliefs constitute “wokeness?” Does wokeness refer to a defined set of left-leaning political beliefs, or beliefs that continue to evolve?
I don’t know the answers to these questions, and I’m not sure anyone else does either. Realizing that, I asked my friend what he meant by the term. I told him I’d answer his question after he told me what he understood “wokeness” to mean. That question prompted my friend to change the subject.
Since that exchange I have thought a bit about wokeness. I see it as a positive thing in that it suggests an awareness of the need to reassess social and racial justice. But I also see it as implying support for a number of social policy proposals that I do not know enough about to support. Slavery reparations is an example. I understand the concept but am not sure about the cost, how to determine who would receive reparations, and whether it is fair to other groups of Americans who also suffered from injustice during our history.
While I am uneasy with the term “wokeness,” I am not ready to walk away from it. For that you can credit Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, and dozens of other Republicans who regularly condemn wokeness and sponsor legislation in a scary attempt to ban it. Fahrenheit 451 comes to mind, or the nazis burning books.
Because nobody seems to know exactly what wokeness is and is not, efforts by politicians to regulate what is and is not taught in schools, what care doctors can and cannot provide, what corporations can and cannot endorse must be opposed. The legislative proposals of Florida Governor DeSantis and others are blatantly political. They have little to do with “protecting” children or America. Instead, they are an attempt to put a blanket label on diverse groups of people who oppose the MAGA agenda.
The problem with Republicans hijacking a term originally used by Black Lives Matter to encourage others to rethink American history and accept the reality that much of that history was racist and cruel is that Republicans use it to oppose the LGBQT+ community, environmentalists, advocates of ESG investing (considering environmental, social and governance issues in making investments), and a host of other groups and issues.
So, how do I answer the question when someone asks me whether I’m woke? I equivocate. “Sort of,” I answer. If pressed (and only if pressed), I will admit welcoming a reexamination of America’s history, which is necessary to make real progress on race issues. I also am woke on environmental issues. If America doesn’t acknowledge the reality of climate change and do something about it, the Easton Shore will be history in less than a century.
My list could go on, but the problem is that if I admit I’m woke, most people I know will assume I have embraced a number of policies on which I remain neutral or opposed. An example is the idea of “sanctuary cities.” I support a sane, welcoming immigration policy. I do not support cities defying federal law.
I have concluded that, like the idea of “making America great again,” the term “woke” has been poisoned. Rather than serving as a valuable tool to get people thinking, it has become a political cudgel wielded by the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Trump, Boebert, DeSantis, and others. At last week’s CPAC convention, presidential candidate Nikki Haley described wokeness as “a virus more dangerous than any pandemic.” What?
Perhaps in a misguided attempt to out-trump Haley, Republican Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), a man with a way with words, told the group that America cannot be governed by “deeply weird, nauseously woke people who hate George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Seuss, and Mr. Potato Head.” Saturday Night Live needs to hire Senator Kennedy, don’t you think?
I want to deny the right-wing access to the term “woke.” One way to get there is not to try to “fix” the concept of wokeness or to argue with the right over what it means (who wins arguments with the far-right these days?), and let the term die. Simply put, if you want to argue wokeness with me, I’m going to walk away. There are better ways to support equitable, progressive policies or to call out racism, homophobia, environmental recklessness, greed, and Trumpism.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant writing on politics, government, and other subjects.
Deirdre LaMotte says
This term originated in the Jim Crow South and means “be alert to dangers”. This was in the 1930s. To be woke means to be enlightened and alert. It now means be aware of right wing demagogues. As these MAGA types’ ambitions get larger, their
brains and ideas get smaller and meaner.
John Dean says
Thank you for reading the piece. I am aware of the history of the term “woke.” I am also aware that today it means vastly different things to different people. Thats why I wrote the piece. And I would note that your definition of wokeness differs from that of Nikki Haley, John Kennedy, and others.
Deirdre LaMotte says
That is because they need to rile up their base in any way they can. They choose cultural issues and
completely exaggerate them, because the GOP has no platform but grievance. Pity Party.
The fact that they lose every election because of this doesn’t sink in. Fine with me.
Art Cecil says
The excessive use of labels in attempting to disparage someone else’s point of view is schoolyard mentality and does nothing to promote serious discussion. This is a habit of yours in virtually everything you write about American political thinking with which you disagree. You may or may not have something serious to add in your commentary but it’s hard to tell when you so consistently resort to name calling in referencing what the other side thinks. I hesitate to think it is all you have but that’s kind of where I am.
John Dean says
Thank you for reading the piece. I don’t agree with your comment, but admit to using strong language to condemn things such as the January 6, 2021 insurrection and many of Donald Trump’s other comments which I consider racist, homophobic or treasonous. I’ve also called our Congressman Andy “Handgun” Harris. I did that because he attempted to carry a loaded gun onto the Floor of the House of Representatives.
In any case, thanks for sharing your views.
J.T. Smith says
I must assume that Mr. Cecil opposes use of the label “ woke” as reflecting a “schoolyard mentality “ and an obstacle to serious discussion. In the spirit of Mr Dean’s typically thoughtful column, I would hope Mr. Cecil will so apprise any Republican acquaintances.
Wilson Dean says
This is an excellent article addressing a battle cry raised by Republicans that even they can’t seem to define. Like you John, I find myself often agreeing with policies that are criticized as woke, but not necessarily with others. Woke is a term that seemingly implies without further explanation that the person holding such beliefs is overly—and ridiculously— sensitive to the issue in question. Yet beyond simply calling out something as woke, Republicans offer no reason as to why the issue should not be discussed.
In other words, the problem may be that those who attack something as woke simply aren’t up to engaging in a constructive back-and-forth exchange of ideas as to the pros and cons of a particular question. How disappointing. How I do miss the “old days” when my Republican friends were willing to sit down and debate issues of the day—a process that benefited us both in understanding our world.
Eleanor Wells says
Excellent piece. My sentiments exactly. Thank you.
Vincent De Sanctis says
Mr. Dean provides an excellent response for the issue of “wokeness”. I like his observation that before he will respond he wants to hear what a person means by “wokeness”. As with many other terms it has become politicized far beyond its original purpose. Think of the right-wing’s labeling the Affordable Care Act into Obamacare because of the implicit message of racism that it suggests. But if “wokeness” means awareness of racial injustice, acceptance of those in the LBGT community, support for legal immigrants, and being critical of many other cultural and social inequities, then I accept being “woke”.
It is most unfortunate but the right-wing agenda to manufacture a false picture of American culture, history and society to serve their political agenda has caused considerable damage to all of us. Opportunistic politicians have seized on some of the latent animosity that has sadly always been present in our society (think of the anti-immigrant fervor during and after World War 1 or those opposed to the 1960s civil rights legislation) as a means to acquire and maintain power.
Mr. Dean’s article was a balanced and much appreciated analysis.
John Dean says
Thank you.
David Lloyd says
This says it all: Woke is “an attempt to put a blanket label on diverse groups of people who oppose the MAGA agenda.” Just the usual Republican attack on those they want to defeat/destroy. No positive agenda; purely negative. Scary that there are people in this country who rely on this.
Matt LaMotte says
When I ask someone – liberal, conservative, or anywhere in-between – to define “wokeness”, I get a different explanation every time! It’s certainly not defined in terms of its original intent. Sigh…