The Importance of Wording

Diction is the choice and use of words and phrases in writing; there is specific diction used by the media and people that manipulates the information that is being presented. Diction can also be used to minimize the importance or what is actually happening. For example, people use the phrase "abortion debate." A women's right to bodily autonomy is not up for debate, this is a religious minority's move to control the bodies of everyone who has a uterus. That cannot be called a debate because it is not a debate, it is a human rights violation. People also tend to call Nazis monsters, but they are not supernatural creatures or mythical demons; they are human, terrible humans. Nazis were young, they have parents, they are parents, they could be siblings, they eat, they sleep, they die, they still do not deserve forgiveness or empathy. When people use that wording, it dehumanizes Nazis and that creates a level of separation between us and them; that can be dangerous because people will then ignore the subtitle signs of anti-semitism by saying "Oh they're not monsters." Do not forget that they are human and they do not deserve sympathy.

An extremely relevant topic is climate change and there is a big issue in how certain people word it. People tend to say "I do believe in climate change" or "I do not believe in climate change." The problem with that is the use of the word believe. When people say they do or do not believe in God that is completely valid because it is based on faith, but when people say "I do not believed in climate change" or "I do not believe in gay people" that does not make sense.

Even if there is people who do not want to accept it, there is a difference between a fact and a belief. Climate change is a fact, gay people are a fact, evolution is a fact, there is no need to believe in these things because you can chose to believe in them or not, they are just facts. It is dangerous to frame these issues as just believing them or not. If you say you believe in climate change, you are implying that not believing in climate change is a valid option. Validating those opinions opens up debates that should not exist. Science is built on facts and religion is built on beliefs. People need to realize the clear distinction of these two and that causes so many of the issues we have today.

Another phrase we continually see in the news is "developing countries," which frankly makes no sense. While these countries are changing and you can say "developing" we need to remember why those countries are going through that. The truth is that these are countries trying to recover from being ruthlessly pillaged and systematically destabilized. If powerful countries can keep these areas destabilized, dependent, and in need of their aid, then those countries can continue to exploit and bleed those countries resources. I once read a comment that said, "The language used about our continent and much of the Southern Hemisphere is just globalized white supremacy at work to ensure equity is not realized and capitalism is maintained on the backs of black/brown people." This furthers my point because word choice is so important and it can be used to minimize the experiences of someone and the situations that are happening. There is also people who tend to use the words "sex" and "gender" interchangeably when they are not the same thing. "Sex" refers to a person's physical traits, including genitals, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary sex characteristics. "Gender" refers to a person's internal mental relationship with masculinity and femininity. Do not let the wording of certain people confuse you or take away your identity. The point is that the word choice of the media, the government, anyone in power is extremely important. Do not those words confuse you, please educate yourself. Also, call people out when they use the wrong wording, it is important that we refer to things as they really are.