neologism contest no. 2
NEW CONTEST: CASH PRIZE
In the first comment of the entry below, Steve proposed the following problem:
'It seems to me that we need a word to show how these radical conservatives, as you rightly call them, are on the same side as others who have wished that law be coextensive with morality: the architects of the French terror, for example, or those Islamists who wish to enshrine Sharia law through force. They are all on the same side, and it's a bad side. Plainly, as you point out, "conservatives" is entirely the wrong description. What should we call them?'
Indeed, American conservatives and Islamists of all stripes want to use the state, or caliphate, to legislate a similar moral code and then punish those who violate it. On pre-marital sex, homosexuality, feminine chastity, sexually explicit culture, and on and on, there is not much difference between Bush-era conservatives and the Taliban. I always laugh when I hear conservatives suggest that liberals are somehow in league with al-Qa'ida. If, somehow, al-Qa'ida ever took over the US or the UK, the first people they'd kill would be the liberals and the so-called cultural elite.
American conservatives and Islamists have a lot in common, but we don't yet have a term that comprehends their similarities, hence the need for this neologism contest. The rules are simple: post your suggestions in the comments thread, and the author of the best submission, as judged by me, will receive a dollar in the mail.
Labels: contest
