A Gulf By Any Other Name?

 I like words.

Plain and simple, I think words matter. My parents named me "Emily Alexandra Bengels" and that defined me from the start. Emily means industrious or hard-working. Alexandra means defender of mankind, or my version of it: helper of humanity. Bengels means troublemaker, rascal, or rogue. So basically I work hard to make the world better by causing some good trouble.

In third grade, my teacher favored me to a fault. I wanted to get in trouble, I tried to get in trouble, but everything I did was showered with praise. This was not good for my goal of making and keeping friends. One day, I decided I really wanted to get in trouble...and even succeeded! I had to sit on the silver bench while other kids were playing. (Victory!). A teacher I cared about came by and asked why I was sitting there. Mrs. Schroth decided to protect me. She told a lie. "Emily's sitting here because she doesn't feel well." Outraged, I went into full temper mode. "That's a Lie! You know I'm here because I was BAD. I was bad! You lied!"

Words matter. The truth matters. Kindness matters.

I'm not proud of that incident, but it still is a little amusing. What isn't amusing is when people in power positions lie to the world. When they scheme to hide truths from people. When words are twisted and turned upside-down with the purpose of deception and power-mongering.

In Nazi Germany, propaganda was the highway for deceptive control. Back in 1933, Goebbels promoted a relatively inexpensive shortwave radio. The "People's Receiver" was easy to get into the hands of the populace...and it had a very limited reception range. The people would only be able to hear news from within the state.

(An aside: the radio was called the Volksempfanger 301, and the "301" was to honor January 30th, 1933, the date when Hitler was named chancellor. Just thinking about that gives me an even worse knot in my stomach.)

Words give people an understanding of the world. If all you hear is from one news outlet, that news outlet controls your thoughts. Goebbels really liked that. By making this radio accessible to your ordinary person, the Nazi state had an extra tool for their brainwashing campaign.

Fox News and other right-wing media also know about how they can exercise control via power of the media. In their case, accessibility doesn't require sale of a specific machine, or outlawing of other ones. Instead, the accessibility deals with presentation. The words on Fox are generally shorter, easier, and more emotionally driven. The volume is louder. The tone is more entertaining. Many people prefer to relax than work to understand the nuances of the world's power struggles. Accessible vocabulary makes that possible.

Trump knows this too. From the get-go, he started a re-naming campaign. Rather than honoring the indigenous people of Alaska with Mt. Denali, he wanted to revert the name to Mt. McKinley. It's notable that McKinley is most associated with manifest destiny, and Trump also started in with land grabs from his first day in office. (I'll also add that Hitler was inspired by Manifest Destiny and emulated the United States in his goal of empire.)

Then there's the whole Gulf of Mexico saga. For four days now--and I'm assuming indefinitely henceforth until someone stops it-- the Associated Press has been kept out of press conferences because they refuse to call it the "Gulf of America." I applaud their ethics.

First of all, it has been the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of years. There's no need to erase a name that is on maps all over the world. Of course, this idea comes from a man who wants to also erase the Mexican people who are part of our history and our day-to-day life.

Thank you, migrants, for grapes. Thank you, Mexican-Americans for The House on Mango Street and Like Water for Chocolate. Thank you for your hospitality, your construction, your art, your food, your language....

But no, the president wants that name to go away. Lay claim to the hurricane-torn waters by renaming it the Gulf of America.

I applaud the Associated Press for sticking to their values. I also applaud the Encyclopedia Britannica for keeping the international name on their maps. Shame on you, Google and Apple, for capitulating so quickly.

As we go forward in the next few weeks, take a look at how language is being used. Is it wooing you into something? Is it pulling you away from something? Who is behind the words? What are they trying to sway you to respond, or act, or believe?

Words are powerful. Think which ones you use and how they show what you believe.

My family still laughs at my "Liar" fight with Mrs. Schroth. Some language deviations are sources of humor. Others can be quite dangerous. Don't let other people control your mind.All reac