A very American, and very conservative, word may soon find its way back into the political lexicon: normalcy. Its return is required by the times we live in. You can’t beat something with nothing, and so when people ask, “What is your answer to woke?”, the reply may become simply, “normalcy.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used it to great effect in his second inaugural address on Jan. 3, as he spoke about the woke embrace of “faddish ideology at the expense of enduring principle”:

This bizarre but prevalent ideology that permeates these policy of measures purports to act in the name of justice for the marginalized, but it frowns upon American institutions. It rejects merit and achievement, and it advocates identity essentialism. We reject this woke ideology. We seek normalcy, not philosophical lunacy. We will not allow reality, facts, and truth to become optional. We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.

A former speechwriter myself, I inquired among those close to DeSantis who wrote the address, and was told that he wrote it himself. So it wasn’t a history major toiling away in anonymity in Tallahassee who revived normalcy, but the governor who just won reelection by 20 points.