Words and Terms

gadflies (tormenters, or people who upset the status quo by posing difficult questions)
"'They act as intellectual and political gadflies, they prod their larger and staider colleagues, they question conformity and complacency.'" (page 34)

Ayn Rand (writer and political conservative)
"Along with his brilliant co-conspirators at National Review, he conducted a series of cheerful purges: banishing John Birchers who cried conspiracy, followers of Ayn Rand who believed that altruism is a crime and anti-Semites who had warped and discredited the right for decades." (page 35)

libertarianism (a political philosophy grounded in the belief that people should be free to do as they wish)
"He balanced a wide streak of libertarianism with a vigorous Catholic traditionalism—endorsing both marijuana legalization and the Latin mass." (page 35)

epee (from the French, a fencing or dueling sword)
"We also learned that language, in the proper hands, could be employed with the precision and effect of an epee." (page 35)

rube (unsophisticated person not interested in culture)
"And this was another achievement: he made it possible to be a conservative without being a rube." (page 35)

© 2008