Seeking a Snappy Retort to Extremism

Dec. 8, 2024

“Just stop.” “Are you done?” Or perhaps “enough is enough.”

Here’s proposing that we moderates need a convenient way to register our disappointment with the loony-tune words and actions that dominate the political landscape.

Neither side is immune from bone-headed decisions that are not in the best interests of the country. Nominating Kash Patel to head the FBI is one of perhaps multiple examples. Pardoning Hunter Biden might be another.

Call us what you will, we moderates are mousy, milquetoasts, mealy-mouthed. We are frequently if not constantly tongue-tied. What can we say to express our exasperation at the craziness?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pithy one-liner that we universally use to express our collective frustration and let the offender know what he has said or done is truly out-there?

This gem has to be brief. It has to have something of an edge, a bite to it. While one phrase might not fit all needs, ideally it would cover two different situations:

• As a snappy comeback when someone says something outrageous.
• To call out officials, whether elected or appointed, when they go overboard.

It would be best if the catchphrase was so catchy that it catches on with everyone, for there would be power in the numbers. Make it a meme on social media, put it on T-shirts. Imagine wearing that T-shirt. Imagine wearing it in public.

In search of the perfect words, I asked the 2,500 respondents to the survey done by Our Common Purpose in September to react to a few possible slogans and to propose ones of their own.

To be entirely transparent, not everyone wanted to play this game. On the multiple-choice question, 18% answered “none of the above.” Three individuals commented to that effect. Those three comments: “I tend not to be confrontive so it is hard for me to come up with a cool response.” “Retorts don’t help the situation.” “Need more than retorts.”

No argument, we need more than retorts. But having a stock rejoinder is better than stunned silence. Best case, it gives a bit of voice to the voiceless.

Many respondents to the poll took up the challenge.  You might say the people are speaking; their suggestions fill seven pages of a Microsoft Word document. Here are the highlights of what came back (get your brain and keyboard ready to weigh in with your own one-liners):

The favorite word is “stop.” “Stop” by itself. “Just stop.” “Stop already.” Then there’s “stop” in various combinations with 50 or so single or strings of words. “Stop the madness.” “Stop the insanity.” A number of “stop the lies.”

Among the more imaginative: “Stop the bull cookies.” Who knows, maybe that will stop the Supreme Court in its tracks.

The one option in the poll’s multiple-choice question that included the word “stop” was “stop the lunacy.” It did okay but not great, finishing as the preference of 15% of respondents.

The multiple-choice answer with the highest response was “enough already.” It scored 29%.   The sister thought, “enough is enough,” was submitted by eight respondents – the highest for any new phrase added to the mix.

Finishing second in the multiple-choice parade was “cut the bull” at 16%. Respondents filled in several variants, including one that sounded particularly young and with it: “Miss me with the bull crap.”

Many responses were clustered around “common.” Common ground, common sense, common good. Although no one taking the polls is provided any information about the sponsor of the survey or the reasons for it, those suggestions, along with companion ones calling for us to “work together,” happen to be the mantra of Our Common Purpose. It’s reinforcing to see such sentiments come in spontaneously, even if they might not have enough zing for this particular purpose.

That said, one of the better formulations is “common sense, no nonsense.”

Some targeted extremism. “That’s too extreme.” “Too extreme to be considered.” And before going any further, I have to acknowledge that a few of the contributions were themselves too extreme. The tersest example being “you fat pig.” But these were few and far between, and this is all you will hear about this more intemperate category.

In addition, there were others who want to admonish. “Grow up.” “Wise up.” “Shut up.” “Wake up.” “Get real.” “Be real.”  So on and so forth.

Some called up America. “We’re all Americans.” “There’s no place for that in America.” “For the good of the country, please stop.” “Country over party.” And then there was this somewhat wordy prescription: “Don’t strive to be the best person on America’s team, be the best player for America’s TEAM!!!”

On the whole, most tried to be constructive. Many were subtle, even gentle. Some reasoned, some fell back on logic. “And you think this why? “Are you sure you want that?”

Some cajoled, some were conciliatory. A number of contributors got on the “peace train.” “Keep the peace.” “Give peace a chance.” “Peace” was sometimes coupled with “love.” And four contributors harkened back to the plea of Rodney King, “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Some preached God and Jesus. “Love not hate like Jesus.”

Others preached “be kind.” “Play nice.” “Play fair.” “Just relax.”

One of my favorite submissions is “Bless your heart!” The intent of this southern phrase depends on the context, but in this case would be interpreted as genteel dismissal that likely would disarm most any offender. The submitter, sure enough, is a 70-year-lady who hails from Alabama.

Others offered familiar phrases. These might work well in personal interactions, although I wonder whether they can be used to call out the latest bone-headed move by Congress. On the other hand, maybe their familiarity is helpful.

“Really?????”

“Oh please”

“Are you done?”

“Seriously?” “Come on now, are you serious?”

“Whatever”

“Next”

By now your mind is spinning, as is mine. So many choices. There are a number of approaches and some good possibilities. My short list includes:

“Stop the madness”

“Country over party”

“For the good of the country, please stop”

“Common sense, no nonsense”

“Enough already”

I like “stop the madness” for its apt double meaning. And there’s one other strong submission that isn’t mentioned above. It’s not original but it might be best of all: “We are better than this.”  Open to discussion is whether it’s better that way or we need to be better.

This musing is anything but conclusive. What about you? What can you imagine wearing on our T-shirts? Like any of the above? Other ideas? Have a clever friend? Pass this along.

— Richard Gilman