2008 Woodie Awards
Fancy phrases faze folks (6/25/08)
Amanda Heidman
Issue date: 7/2/08 Section: Opinion
It is undeniable that certain words can evoke strong emotions such as fear, excitement and pride, and the mass American media are far from blind to this fact. To sway an audience in one direction, news reporters and speechwriters will integrate key words into their spiel.
Words like "patriot," "liberty" and "freedom" are used to make listeners feel that they are all united and working together against a common evil, even if the topic of discussion is not related to such an idea.
Similarly, terms such as "9/11," "terrorism" and "Iraq" are thrown carelessly into speeches to stir up fear, anger and, again, a feeling of agreement with the speaker.
This becomes a problem when the audience loses sight of what the person is actually discussing and follows his or her emotions, which have been provoked by these key words. In this case, the listener may choose to agree with a news station, a war stance or an elected politician that he or she otherwise may not have.
There is an episode of "Family Guy" that addresses this issue indirectly. In the episode, Lois, the mother, runs for town mayor and addresses a speech to the citizens. When asked about her position on an array of subjects, she answers honestly and is met only with the sound on a lone cricket. After a few rounds like this, she throws in some of the aforementioned key words, which leads to a great rise in the audience's excitement.
Eventually, she gets to an exaggerated point where someone asks a question about a serious topic and her entire answer consists of "9/11." The audience goes wild. Although "Family Guy" is only a cartoon and does not prove anything, it brings up an excellent point.
Other issues may threaten us more than words, but it is still very reasonable for us to fear letting other people be in charge of our emotions. There is no way to fight such a human reaction, but awareness and knowledge can damper any threat. While watching a news program or listening to a politician's speech, everyone must be alert to the key words they unnecessarily throw in to gain the upper hand upon influential opinions.
Individual opinions must be formed on the actual issue at hand, not the emotional triggers placed there to trick them. By doing this, we can all be satisfied knowing that the things we can change in this world will be done so in a rational and well-informed manner, rather than in an emotional craze.
Words like "patriot," "liberty" and "freedom" are used to make listeners feel that they are all united and working together against a common evil, even if the topic of discussion is not related to such an idea.
Similarly, terms such as "9/11," "terrorism" and "Iraq" are thrown carelessly into speeches to stir up fear, anger and, again, a feeling of agreement with the speaker.
This becomes a problem when the audience loses sight of what the person is actually discussing and follows his or her emotions, which have been provoked by these key words. In this case, the listener may choose to agree with a news station, a war stance or an elected politician that he or she otherwise may not have.
There is an episode of "Family Guy" that addresses this issue indirectly. In the episode, Lois, the mother, runs for town mayor and addresses a speech to the citizens. When asked about her position on an array of subjects, she answers honestly and is met only with the sound on a lone cricket. After a few rounds like this, she throws in some of the aforementioned key words, which leads to a great rise in the audience's excitement.
Eventually, she gets to an exaggerated point where someone asks a question about a serious topic and her entire answer consists of "9/11." The audience goes wild. Although "Family Guy" is only a cartoon and does not prove anything, it brings up an excellent point.
Other issues may threaten us more than words, but it is still very reasonable for us to fear letting other people be in charge of our emotions. There is no way to fight such a human reaction, but awareness and knowledge can damper any threat. While watching a news program or listening to a politician's speech, everyone must be alert to the key words they unnecessarily throw in to gain the upper hand upon influential opinions.
Individual opinions must be formed on the actual issue at hand, not the emotional triggers placed there to trick them. By doing this, we can all be satisfied knowing that the things we can change in this world will be done so in a rational and well-informed manner, rather than in an emotional craze.
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