The Power of Words

I was reading a poem that moved me to tears. The words created thoughts, and the thoughts created emotion.

We all have favorite books. What are books? Collections of words.

Words have incredible power.

One of the most powerful sentences in the world has only three words: “I love you.” The power of the word “love” is incredible. So is the power of the word “hate.”

Deepak tells us to write down our intentions, because the written word is so powerful.

A word isn’t just a word–it is a captured thought or symbol filtered through layers and layers of personal experience, perception, and cultural context. For that reason, words have a denotative meaning–that is, the literal meaning–and a connotative meaning–that is, the powerful implicit, emotional, or suggestive meaning.

If you frame something, you arrange or adjust it for a purpose. For example, you could say that a question was “framed” to draw only one answer. A frame gives additional meaning to a word. If I say the word “elephant” many people would think of, “trunk,” “zoo,” etc., etc. Frames drive our understandings of words as they relate to objects and build our understanding of ideas. Thus, controlling a frame can be very powerful because frames create norms.

The conservatives in this country did an excellent job in shifting society’s frame of “patriotism.” After Sept. 11, the United States was painted red, white, and blue with pride and patriotism. Everyone was for patriotism and proud to be American. Karl Rove is smart. He saw an opportunity. The Patriot Act was introduced into Congress and passed. The thing is, this country is built on freedoms. Freedoms are patriotic. This act with-drew personal freedoms. It wasn’t patriotic at all. If that wasn’t enough, if Americans identified as anti-war, they were called unpatriotic. In effect, the societal frame of “patriotic” was shifted for a purpose–to move an agenda. You had to be pro-war and conservative to be viewed as patriotic. It was a societal shift of a frame.

Some liberals are trying to re-claim the word. I’ve seen pins that read, “I don’t support the war and I’m patriotic.” It’s another effort to shift a frame.

In the meantime, on days like July 4th, that are traditionally “patriotic,” it can become difficult to identify with the holiday, as the word has a whole new meaning for many Americans. Progressive Americans may feel uncomfortable identifying with the word. For some Americans, it’s a big deal, and for some it’s not. It all depends on your frame of reference and personal beliefs.

But at the end of the day, the unshakable truth is that words have tremendous power, and we should recognize and be aware of that fact.