Pronoun preferences can elicit wildly different responses from each side of the American culture wars. Yet one category of pronouns is arguably more powerful and influential than those tucked away in email signatures: first-person plural pronouns. Especially when heads of state get their hands on it.
The royal we once signaled monarchs' divine authority: God would send important messages directly to the king, who relayed this heavenly message through his edicts. But it's not just the British royalty who use these politically charged pronouns; the United States was founded on the word we. Few words are as iconically American as the first three words of the Preamble: "We the People." Even when casting off the shackles of the British monarchy, the Founding Fathers couldn't shake the crown's linguistic style.
