The Power of Vocabulary
The Bible tells us that the Word brought creation into being. God spoke the word and creation happened.
Often we downplay the power of the word, the power of vocabulary. It's "just a word," we might say. But words have the power to create reality. Words shape how we think. Some people in authority know this, and so they try to shape the vocabulary in order to control how people think and how they act. Call people names and then we start thinking about those people through the lenses of the names we give to them. Words shape reality. They, especially when they are used inappropriately, can become means for creating a black and white universe. I call you a name then I can dismiss you easily because you are are on the wrong side; you are one of "them." Words are no small matter. We need to use them well, and we need to not give people (particularly those in charge) power to use them to create a hateful, cynical, us-versus-them world.