Woke: the act of following and/or escalating a fad in an effort to gain political influence. (Related to, but not the same as, Cultural Narcissism.)

To understand my definition of Woke, we must begin with cornerstones of American culture: bragging and showing-off. The constant game of oneupmanship that we must endure from day to day. We are constantly trying to out-do each other over the dumbest things. Yoga… first it is just yoga, then hot yoga, then yoga on a surf board, naked yoga, yoga with a goat, and on and on. Or guys and their trucks; honestly, there is a point when a truck can be too high and the tires too large, that it effectively becomes useless. And that point point is much lower and smaller than you think.

It really is everywhere. The competition of showing-off over superficial things is the main engine driving our economy. And anyone who has spent time on a bar-stool knows exactly how fast these competitions can escalate into the absurd. Before long there is a guy claiming he has a GE nuclear reactor powering his truck. Woke, is this attitude applied to politics.

I define politics as the art and science of gaining influence. Thus, woke is using these competitive fads, not just to show-off, to impress friends, or to get a special person’s attention, but to pursue political influence. Woke happens equally in all political persuasions. A guy wearing women’s panties on his head during a pandemic was just as woke as the people coming up with increasingly crazy words they claim are pronouns. (The man with panties on his head was following the fad of mocking a specific fear.) The only reason behind their effort is political… no practical aspects whatsoever.