wert

wert - verb - (archaic) past subjunctive second person form of be

From John Wesley, "... which wert and art and evermore shall be."

irony

irony - noun - an outcome of events to what was, or what might have been, expected.

I'm surprised this hasn't already been used. What irony!

Comprachicos

Comprachicos - n - A compound Spanish word meaning "child-buyers". The term refers to various groups in folklore who were said to change the physical appearance of human beings by manipulating growing children, in a similar way to the horticultural method of bonsai – or through deliberate mutilation. Allusion to this myth is common in reference to any group or body who seek to alter the minds of children through calculated manipulation.

This may or may not be myth. Back in the day (as my children say) I read Victor Hugo's novel The Man Who Laughs, the story of Gwynplaine, who had had his mouth carved into a permanent grin by gypsies; Conrad Veidt played the part in a famous silent movie, which I would love to see.

civic

civic - adj - of or pertaining to a city or municipal; or or pertaining to citizenship; of citizens

See my rant under stoat.

stoat

stoat - n - The ermine, especially when in its brown color phase.

Inspired by William Lind: "In 1914, America was a republic with a small federal government, a self-reliant citizenry, growing industry, an expanding middle class, an uplifting culture and exemplary morals. By 1990 and the end of that long war, we had become a tawdry and increasingly resented world empire with a vast, endlessly intrusive federal government, a population of willingly manipulated consumers, shrinking industry, a vanishing middle class, a debauched culture and morals that would shame a self-respecting stoat. "

mean

mean – adj - Offensive, selfish, or unaccommodating; nasty; malicious; small-minded or ignoble; penurious, stingy, or miserly; inferior in grade, quality, or character; low in status, rank, or dignity; of little importance or consequence; unimposing or shabby; small, humiliated, or ashamed.

An adjective I would apply to much of culture and society in these waning days of Western civilization.