General Semantics Advanced Thinking
A System-Discipline Concerned with the Sanity of the Race & the Individual
Labels Make a Difference
Posted: 09.22.2010 | Categories: Applications, General Semantics

I listened to some of the ‘debate’ re. “Don’t ask, don’t tell”. A
representative “Susan Collins” commented “We welcome the service of these individuals who want to serve their country……”. I am wondering: Would it not make a big difference in terms of support for dropping this rule if just one word was changed in the above?

Suppose the statement was presented in the form: “We welcome the service of these Americans who want to serve their country…..”.

1 Comment to “Labels Make a Difference”

  1. Milton Dawes says:

    I agree. In the article at my website “Politics an Undiscovered, Unexplored Branch of Psychology” I suggested it could have made, and could make a big difference in polical practice if the first comma was ommitted from Lincoln’s “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The change: “Government of the people by the people…for the people”.

    ‘The affairs of humans are conducted by our own, human-made rules and according to human-made-theories….Human achievements rest upon the use of symbols. For this reason, we must consider ourselves as a symbolic, semantic class of life…and those who rule the symbols, rule us.’ (Science And Sanity, page 76-7). For instance: I think if the label “whistle blower” was changed to “Concerned Citizen”, this could make a big difference. And who introduced “imoges”? Think of the many effects they have on users.

    Milton Dawes.

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