Don't Fall for Superficiality of Identity Politics

If you are writing for the general public, and not just for English majors, why do you use words like obfuscate, LDS, and pejorative? I have no idea what LDS stands for. Nor do I know what pejorative means. I think obfuscate means to obscure or cloud the issue, but I'm not certain. I was reading your article and agreeing with you, and all of a sudden these words pop up and I'm finding myself getting angry at you for using these words, instead of just enjoying your article and views. I have a BS in Biology, so I'm not illiterate, but I know I'm not that great when it comes to English. Thanks for letting me rant. Jim Perdue.

Jimbo, I appreciate your comment and perspective. As to my writing, I simply write as I think it, complete with word choice and syntax. I find that so many on the left perceive those of us on the right as unlettered, unread, and illiterate “hay-seed chewing hicks,” that I intentionally don’t write down to a 5th grade reading level, which is the level that most newspapers write to. Regrettably, that occasionally requires the use of a dictionary by others who are also well-read and lettered (i.e. college educated) but may not have a vocabulary inclusive of the words I use occasionally.

I apologize for the reference to “LDS” without further explanation. The paper I write for has a large population of LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) which is the church Mitt Romney belongs to. More colloquially they are referred to as “Mormon.”

Richard