I opened my eyes this morning. . . and it was "wokeness."

There is a word that has become prominent in mainstream:  "wokeness." Many in our political and media world struggle to get a handle on its true meaning and placement in our present chaotic world.

Olivia Montes, editor of Lifestyle wrote, "The term itself - which became recognized in 2014 following the police-related murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri - originated in the early 20th century as a catchword for Black Americans to be watchful of threats to their communities and identity. From there, it became a statement meaning being politically and socially conscious of the events and actions of those around them." 

James Carville, noted Democratic strategist, recently said he knows exactly why his party lost badly on Tuesday: "Stupid wokeness."

That's the blunt diagnosis of the man who famously guided Bill Clinton to the White House in early 1990s."Don't just look at Virginia and New Jersey," Carville told PBS' Judy Woodruff. "Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Washington. I mean, this 'defund the police' lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln's name off of schools. I mean that  - people see that."

Back in July, in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Carville said the party's emphasis on "woke" issues was endangering its ability to keep its House and Senate majorities. "We're letting a noisy wing of our party define the rest of us. And my point is we can't do that," Carville told Cuomo. "I think these people are all kind of nice people. I think they're very naïve, and they're all into language and identity. And that's all right. They're not storming the Capitol. But they're not winning elections, either."

Carville's argument is that by focusing on removing statues or defunding the police or on proper pronouns for transgender students, Democrats are talking too much about issues that matter less to a broad swath of Americans than, say, the economy.

Catch words and phrases have an ugly way of catching up with people. Let's stick to what is important instead of what sounds good at the moment.

I woke up this morning, and that's good enough for me.

 An Opinion by John Watson