OPINION:
By now you’ve probably read about Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2024: “polarization.” In all honesty, it’s tough to argue with that selection. The political and cultural divisions that have characterized America over the past few years, and especially during the election cycle of 2024, are indisputable.
From heated political arguments with family members at the holiday table to the increasing and unrelenting toxicity of social media (not only about politics but also such seemingly innocuous topics as Taylor Swift, football, or fashion), we see polarization everywhere. We look less like “one nation under God” and more like warring tribes trying to eradicate each other.
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Speaking of social media, Oxford University Press has also announced its Word of the Year, and it is… “brain rot!” Their press release says it “gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.”
What’s especially interesting about “brain rot” is that its rise to prominence was not primarily the work of uptight academics or commentators, but social media users themselves, especially on TikTok. Oxford Languages president Casper Grathwohl noted “that the word brain rot has been adopted by gen Z and gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to.”
In other words, we know we’re polarized but we kind of enjoy it, and we know excessive social media is rotting our brains, but we’re almost proud of it. How can we reverse this downward spiral? What kind of massive societal shift would need to take place in order for Merriam-Webster and Oxford to identify culture-defining terms next year that aren’t thoroughly negative and depressing?
I don’t believe the answer lies in returning to an imagined golden age. Word-of-the-year examples over the past couple of decades include “gaslighting,” “unfriend,” “post-truth,” and the ever-incendiary “pandemic” and “vaccine.”
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And going much further back in time, the picture wouldn’t be much brighter. If Merriam-Webster and Oxford had existed in the First or Second Centuries, what terms might they employ to characterize the Roman empire during a given year? History suggests that “brutality” or “hedonism” or “corruption” or “persecution” might be good candidates.
But thankfully, negative terms such as those didn’t exclusively define the world then, and they don’t have to now. In Roman times, men and women of faith and conscience pushed back against the corruption and toxicity of the day. When unwanted babies were abandoned on trash heaps outside the city gates, Christian believers would take them in. When the prevailing society was described as “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:2-4), the apostle Paul preached a better way: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
As a result of this countercultural way of thinking and behaving, the world changed — for the better! As my friend Canon J.John notes, human rights, the sanctity of life, economics, education, charity, and so many other foundational concepts and institutions were impacted by those who embraced the Bible’s teachings. He says, “The record of Christianity in creating much of what we value is overwhelming.”
It’s going to take time — probably a lot of time — before our culture moves away from polarization and brain rot. But we don’t have to let terms like those hold the exclusive rights to shaping society. Let’s pursue the Fruit of the Spirit in our relationships, not only with those who are on “our side,” but also, and maybe especially, with those with whom we disagree. Let’s flee brain rot and pursue the true, the noble, and the good.
Here are a few terms that I’d like to adopt as my own “words of the year” for 2025:
- Grace
- Forgiveness
- Truth
- Kindness
- Wisdom
- Discernment
- Courage
- Compassion
- Responsibility
What would be on your list? Your personal “words of the year” might not make headlines, but they just might bring healing to a broken relationship, diffuse a toxic situation, or bring greater peace of mind to you or a friend or loved one. Don’t wait for Oxford and Merriam-Webster to define the times for you!
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Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.
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