"The War We Haven't Won," Vocabulary from the article

In Newsweek, Anna Quindlen points out that while poverty might not be headline-grabbing news, it is a dangerous condition that must be addressed because millions of Americans struggle with it everyday. This list highlights words used to describe the problem and possible solutions.

Here is a link to the article: The War We Haven't Won
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. unconditional
    not modified or restricted
    In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson made history during his first State of the Union speech with this sentence: "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America."
  2. initiative
    the first of a series of actions
    From that declaration a host of government initiatives sprang, including Head Start, an expanded food-stamp program, and sweeping reforms in health care for the needy.
  3. poverty
    the state of having little or no money and possessions
    The poverty rates fell and living standards for many in poor communities rose.
  4. abject
    most unfortunate or miserable
    And all because the president had had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens associated with Third World countries and the novels of Dickens was as dangerous as any battlefield enemy.
    The adjective is used to describe the conditions in which poor people live. But it can also describe the poor people's feelings ("showing utter resignation or hopelessness") or the more fortunate people's observations about the poor ("showing humiliation or submissiveness").
  5. rage
    be violent
    But 40 years after Johnson led the charge, the battle against poverty still rages.
    The verb can also mean "feel intense anger." This is suggested by the overall tone of the article, which wants readers to rage that a battle against poverty is raging everyday right next to them and their children on American soil. Although this "attitude check is no substitute for food on the table," it could lead to more results than "Who cares?"
  6. census
    a periodic count of the population
    Recently released figures from the Census Bureau show that for the third year in a row the number of Americans living below the poverty line has increased.
  7. provide
    give what is desired or needed, as support or sustenance
    When you adjust the level to reflect reality, you come closer to 35 percent of all Americans who are having a hard time providing the basics for their families, what the Community Service Society of New York calls "The Unheard Third."
  8. advocate
    speak, plead, or argue in favor of
    Deborah Weinstein's been in the business for a quarter century and now runs Coalition on Human Needs, an umbrella group that advocates for its members in Washington.
  9. disenfranchised
    deprived of the rights of citizenship, as the right to vote
    In other words, she lobbies for the disenfranchised.
    The word "disenfranchised" emphasizes that American citizenship guarantees the rights to the basic necessities of life. Although the poor are not legally deprived of food, shelter, or voting, their lack of money blocks them from meeting their needs or getting them heard.
  10. frustration
    the feeling of being thwarted in attaining your goals
    Her frustration, and that of others who do this work, is that it's pretty clear what brings results.
  11. adjust
    adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions
    Raising the minimum wage, which hasn't been adjusted in seven years.
  12. expand
    make bigger or wider in size, volume, or quantity
    Expanding unemployment insurance.
  13. grapple
    work hard to come to terms with or deal with something
    Really grappling with health care.
    A grapple is a "tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding" or it can be "the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat." Here, it is figuratively used to suggest that health care is a difficult issue; similar to war, people will grapple with each other in ways that could mean the loss or preservation of many lives.
  14. counterpart
    a person or thing having the same function as another
    Poor kids are much more likely to become sick than their richer counterparts, but much less likely to have health insurance.
  15. constituent
    a citizen who is represented in a government by officials
    But politicians are inclined to support those programs their most vocal constituents support
  16. defect
    a failing or deficiency
    part of the problem with a war on poverty today is that many Americans have decided that being poor is a character defect, not an economic condition.
  17. prosper
    make steady progress
    Statistics show that the wealthy have prospered most in our current economy, and the unheard third at the bottom least.
  18. rhetoric
    using language effectively to please or persuade
    (But who are you gonna believe, government rhetoric about fairness for all, or your lying eyes?)
    The chosen definition has a positive tone that can be believable, but the example sentence uses "government" as a negative modifier and suggests that its rhetoric is more like "loud and confused and empty talk."
  19. influence
    a power to affect persons or events
    Given how much influence the wealthy exert over the political process, there's really only one reason to champion programs for the poor.
  20. inclined
    having a preference, disposition, or tendency
    But it's a reason well worth remembering at a time when elected officials are inclined to make much of the state of their souls: it's the moral thing to do.
Created on Thu May 28 11:35:41 EDT 2015 (updated Thu May 28 14:24:09 EDT 2015)

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