So ingrained in our electoral lexicon is this word that Genghis mentioned it first in his recent post.  Pundits too have picked up on the many conjugations &  permutations that have been utilized by one of the campaigns for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.  The word has become synonymous with passion and righteousness, as if those who invoke the mantle of "fighter" are somehow more passionate in their support of a just cause than those who do not.

It was pointed out to me by a pundit on Washington Week with Gwen Eiffel that the aforementioned campaign has used every conjugation and permutation of "fight," and I mention this again in passing because it was this observation that reminded me of a great suspense (and sci-fi) book written by Ira Levin, This Perfect Day.

For a good overview of the book, check out Wikipedia's entry.  Some background for the story: humanity has been united in a utopian, communist society under the leadership of a supercomputer named UniComp (or Uni).  Like every good Ira Levin book, the seemingly paradisical setting has clear cracks that grow as the novel proceeds; people are constantly monitored & directed by the computer, drugged to prevent them reaching their full potential, encouraged to tell on one another, and they all mysteriously die at age 62.  Children sing this nursery rhyme:
"Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei,
Led us to this perfect day.
Marx, Wood, Wei and Christ,
All but Wei were sacrificed.
Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx,
Gave us lovely schools and parks.
Wei, Christ, Marx and Wood,
Made us humble, made us good."

But I really encourage you to read the Wiki summary, as I'd like to get on with my points.  In this world, along with many other odd social developments, the word "Fight" is a cuss word as bad as the F-bomb.  In a peaceful, sanitized utopia, this word is distasteful to the extreme.

People say things like, "Can you believe people were so fighting stupid?  War is hell, I'm glad there hasn't been a war in..."

And "Fight her, she's terrible at her job."

And "Fight Uni."

I hadn't thought about this book in years, but the overuse of "fight" recently has definitely crossed the threshold into the meme category.  As I mentioned, it seems to be a way to emphasize one's passionate advocacy of a just cause. Invariably, the cause a candidate will "fight" for is something good (favorable to the audience at least), so fighting for it must be good.

Naturally, the reason I was reminded of Ira Levin's book is because of the negatively-connotated "fight" meme in this book.  The reason we recoil in confusion or perhaps amusement at the naivete of using the word "fight" as a swear word is because we know "fight" does not have a negative connotation.

Furthermore, "fight" doesn't have a positive connotation.

I always thought that the word "fight" is value neutral.  I would suggest that constantly using this word next to just causes or causes that will generate hearty applause conflates a positive connotation onto this word.  The word has been worked into the narrative again and again, as though it were a positive characteristic or habit of one of the candidates.  As if it were not value neutral.  Fighting for the right causes is great; but if you happen to pick the wrong cause, being a fighter makes it harder to concede early, harder to steer us all collectively onto the right path.

"Fight" appeals to a certain type of voter.  No warmongering is necessary to use this militant word.  One can say one will fight for healthcare or tax cuts or whatever, or describe oneself as a lifelong fighter.  It makes one appear tough, steel-spined.  You might even argue that this word is a little hawkish, and appeals to hawkish voters.

So.  My intent is not to offend anyone, or to name names - I was careful not to.  I'm just making some observations and hypotheses here about (what I've always thought was) a value neutral word whose connotation has, from what I've seen, been distorted in a definite direction over the past few months.

Of course, I also wanted to contrast this use with the silly, F-bomb-like connotation of "fight" in This Perfect Day, which is a highly recommended read.