Much of the language of the woke Left implicitly borrows from the authority of historical suffering or from the authority of psychology or sociology. Identity politics, after all, is nothing but an argument from authority. (“As a …”)

And nobody has quite the moral authority in American life that veterans do. Which, sadly or at least annoyingly, is why the service and sacrifice of veterans is used so often and to such effect by so many Chevrolet Silverado and political campaign ads. Oddly enough, the woke folk, in between decrying the martial virtues and deeming America imperialist, use that authority too. Perhaps the favorite rhetorical device of that set today is to cry “trauma” at the drop of a culturally appropriated hat.