The above passage comes from Simone Weil\u2019s essay \u201cThe Power of Words,\u201d written in the late 1930s as Nazi forces, ideology, and propaganda swept across Europe. Weil\u2019s concern in the essay is to push back against the insidious ways in which language can be misused and twisted in the service of ideology, nationalism, tribalism, and violence. Seventy-five years later, her essay reads as if it was written yesterday.<\/p>\n
In their 2\/19\/21 episode, titled #SayThisNotThat, the four contributors discuss why words matter in our national legislation and dialogue. The starting point for the conversation was the Biden administration\u2019s new directive to various governmental agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, that terms like \u201calien\u201d and \u201cillegal alien\u201d should not be used in internal or public communication, replacing such terms with less dehumanizing words like \u201cnon-citizen.\u201d This diretictive reverses directives from the former Trump administration in 2018 when then Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the Justice Department to use the word \u201calien\u201d in their legal pleadings and communications instead of phrases like \u201cundocumented immigrants,\u201d since the word \u201calien\u201d is used in 1950s and 1960s legislation related to immigration.<\/p>\n The podcast conversation continued to explore the various ways in which words change over time and we are challenged to change our vocabulary accordingly. It is often a challenge to keep abreast of the current word or phrase that is considered appropriate for a demographic or group of people; for many, the task smacks of political correctness and liberal pearl-clutching.<\/p>\n In my experience, such reactions usually come from persons whose gender or race have provided them with a barrier of privileged protection from weaponized words and phrases. As Barb McQuade says in the podcast, \u201clanguage evolves, and we must evolve with it. It\u2019s on all of us to keep up.\u201d At the end of this section of the podcast, Jill Wine-Banks directs us to #SayThisNotThat, a Twitter hashtag that she has started that calls attention to language that is inaccurate, misleading, and\/or offensive. Check it out!<\/p>\n The podcast conversation reminded me of when my youngest son Justin was visiting from out West for a few days a couple of years ago. He joined me on Friday afternoon at the small pub on campus to experience the weekly 4:00 weekly gathering of a dozen or so faculty to share a beer (or two or three) at the end of the academic week (we\u2019ve been doing this weekly on Zoom for the past year). Justin enjoyed meeting my colleagues, but about fifteen minutes into the gathering, I noticed that he was paying more attention to his phone than to us, frequently poking furiously on the screen as he texted someone somewhere.<\/p>\n Thinking this was somewhat rude, I asked him what was so important on his phone that he couldn\u2019t focus on drinking beer with the group.<\/p>\n Words do indeed matter.<\/p>\n Last year, I wrote on this blog about challenging myself to eliminate words and expressions having to do with guns, shooting, and firearms from my written and verbal communication.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/766\/2021\/03\/Sisters-in-law-150x150.jpg\")
I was reminded of Weil\u2019s essay the other day as I listened to an episode of #SistersInLaw<\/strong>, a new podcast featuring Jill Wine-Banks, Barbara McQuade, Joyce Vance, and Kimberley Atkins, described in their promo material as a \u201cbrilliant team of political and legal masterminds\u201d who \u201cpull the curtain back on how our government actually works, take on the corrupt, share their wisdom, and give us their rulings on the latest in politics, law, and culture.\u201d If you are a regular viewer of MSNBC, you\u2019ll recognize these women as regular contributors to any number of shows. I highly recommend their podcast.<\/p>\n\n