RALEIGH — Are you an epicurean? The answer to this question reveals something about you, the English language, and the power of propaganda.

Next year, North Carolina and the nation will enter a momentous cycle of midterm elections. Print, broadcast and online media will be replete with messages designed to attract us to candidates, repel us from their opponents and shape our perception of issues ranging from tax reform and education spending at the state level to trade, immigration, economic policy and foreign affairs in congressional races.

To the extent you can define the terms of a debate, you can influence the outcome of that debate. The story of Epicurus illustrates the point. A Greek sage and teacher of the Hellenistic Age, Epicurus urged his followers to focus on the basic issue o

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