Descriptionary

grassroots movement any cultural or political move­ment started and maintained by the common people.

groundswell a sudden mass or outpouring of sup­port for a cause; momentum for a popular cause that can be used to advance changes in law or behavior.

groupthink the tendency of people in groups to conform or adjust their attitudes to be in step with one another.

hate crime a crime motivated primarily by racism, sexism, or homophobia, and which sometimes comes with higher legal penalties.

Holocaust the genocide of Jews in World War II by the German Nazis.

homophobia hatred and prejudice against homo­sexuals.

humanism the philosophy or belief that human beings can be good and moral without influence from a religion or belief in God.

iconoclasm rejection of traditional beliefs and insti­tutions.

ideology any set of guiding beliefs or principles, whether religious, political, or social.

indoctrination the teaching, imbuing, or brain­washing of an individual to a specific group's way of thinking.

internalization the adoption of the attitudes or beliefs of others as one's own.

isolationism a national "hands-off" policy that dis­regards the troubles in other nations; uninvolvement in the politics of other countries.

Jim Crow from a 19th-century minstrel routine that evolved into a pejorative epithet for blacks, a general reference to any discriminatory laws that separate blacks from whites.

jingoism zealous patriotism and contempt toward foreign countries.

Ku Klux Klan a society, known for wearing white hoods to keep the identities of members secret, that is highly prejudiced against blacks and other minorities, maintains the philosophy of white supremacy, and sometimes commits terrorist acts.

lower class the poor, uneducated, laboring class.

lunatic fringe any extremists advocating radical solutions to social problems.

male-bashing female gender bias; the practice of some females of harshly and unfairly stereotyping males.

master race a "superior" race, or the fanciful belief that such a rare exists and should therefore dominate all "inferior" races, a philosophy of Adolf Hitler and others.

matriarchy rule or government by women.

middle class those in a society who earn a moderate income and may or may not have higher educations.

misery index any measure of national and regional well-being, especially concerning employment and inflation.

moral majority a religion-and-morals-oriented seg­ment of the United States, claiming to make up the majority of the population while working to influence the national agenda.

mores the morals, ethics, customs, and ways of a society or culture.

movement a growing organization of social or political activists working to effect change in a spe­cific area.

multiculturalism the expression of or providing for diverse cultures in a single society, in schools, in the workplace, and in everyday life.

nationalism patriotism and devotion to one's own culture; the desire for independence from other nations.

nihilism the philosophy that morals are a human invention and do not exist in the natural world. Also, the advocacy of positive societal change through anarchy.

nonviolence a philosophy of pacifism, according to which change can be brought about by peaceful means.

outing making public the fact that someone else is gay or lesbian.

passive resistance activism that attempts to create change by nonviolent means, such as through sit-ins, boycotts, economic sanctions, or noncompliance.

patriarchy government rule by males.

politically correct acutely aware of the past injus­tices suffered by minorities, women, ethnic groups, the disabled, and other groups, and thus attempting to act and speak with a degree of sensitivity that is devoid of prejudice, stereotyping, or offensive notions of any kind. Sometimes taken to an extreme.

power elite those in society holding influential positions.

prejudice negative feelings toward those of another race, ethnic group, gender, sexual orientation, etc., that stem from stereotyping, broad generalizations, unfounded notions, and general ignorance.

Promise Keepers a Christian men's movement, originating in the 1990s, through which men gather and make promises to maintain sexual fidelity and work to strengthen their marriages.

provincialism small-town thinking that, through lack of worldly experience with a broad spectrum of people, is prejudicial and tends to stereotype those who are different. Also, concern for only one's own town or region.