Chapter 1 - The Words Under the Words
Questions
1) Legislation - “Death Tax” vs “Estate Tax”
The words under the words in Death Tax are the pairing of “Death” and “Tax.” At first blush, the connotation seems to be that there is some additional price to pay for dying; an additional financial burden heaped onto one of life’s most vulnerable events.
The words under the words of “Estate Tax” are the pairing of “Estate” which connotes an air of wealth, and “Tax”, which, as in the first case, connotes an obligation. The resulting combination strikes me as a duty one must pay in order to be rich.
I think more people oppose the legislation when it is labeled as a “Death Tax”, rather than as an “Estate Tax” because of the perceived unfairness of one over the other. A Death Tax seems aimed at those of poorer and median wealth, who may not be able to handle additional financial expenses when a death in the family occurs, while the Estate Tax seems targeted towards those who can afford to spare a few cents for the common good.
2) Family Law - “award” or “deny” custody
I would assume that more people would choose Parent B when the question is posed using the verb award due to some strong characteristics such as Above-Average Income and Very Close Relationship with Child.
I would assume people chose Parent A when the question was posed with the verb deny because, while Parent A’s characteristics may not be as impressive, there are no red-flags, such as with Parent B’s Lots of Work-Related Travel.
When using the verb award, I think our minds are drawn to our notion of merit. What does this person deserve? Generally speaking I think the majority of people believe that individuals who have achieved a high level of success, as is measured by our shared culture, are more deserving of reward.
When using the verb deny, I think we’re then looking for negative aspects of character, which would disqualify one from providing a good and stable environment for a child. Embedded in our cultural understanding of success, and how it is acheived, is the concept of sacrifice. In this case, the more successful parent has sacrificed work/life balance and health in order to acheive it. Thereby making them less appealing than the other parent.
3) Business - what are “employees” called?
| Company | Term |
|---|---|
| Trader Joe’s | Crew Members |
| Disney Theme Parks | Cast Members/Imagineers |
| Starbucks | Baristas |
| Walmart | Associates |
| Apple | Geniuses/Creatives |
| Taco Bell | Food Champions |
The connotation of these terms is that “employee” is a negative term, and that an employee is someone who simply trades labor in exchange for money, seemingly a morally repugnant proposition. The terms used by these companies imply an employer/employee relationship based on shared principles and values relating to the business proposition each company provides. A worker doesn’t choose to work for these companies simply for a paycheck, but because they believe that the product or service the company provides adds some irreplacable value to society. And the company doesn’t choose a worker simply because they will fulfill the requirements of the job, but because the worker will zealously see the company mission accomplished.
Customers, managers, and fellow employees can take satisfaction in knowing that everyone working for the company does so out of personal conviction, rather than financial gain. Convictions are tied to identity, and are seen as firm, resolute, and lasting, whereas financial pursuits are frivolous, fleeting, and lack inherent meaning.
4) Human Trafficking - “victim” or “survivor”
In this or other contexts where we could choose to label someone as either a “victim” or “survivor,” one decision we are making, either concisously or subconciously, is to whom we ascribe agency.
A “victim” implies someone to whom an event happens, with little or no power to prevent or challenge the circumstances that befall them. And somehow is made weaker by the process.
A “survivor” on the other hand, does have some power to, if not control the outcome of the event, emerge stronger as a result of it.
We might use “victim” in cases where we want to evoke empathy to a level that would galvanize some helpful action. For example, if a tornado demolishes a row of family homes, we might refer to those people affected as “victims” if we want to elicit a feeling of helplessness, implying that they need some assistance to get back to normal.
However, if these same people had the resources to rebuild their homes themselves, and did so, we might refer to them as “survivors” and praise their resilience and self-reliance.
5) Education - field “trip?”
Field “trips” were renamed to field “lessons.” The rebranding emphasizes the educational nature of the trips. Rather than being a reward, or a distraction, the excursions serve an educational function, and are therefore worthy of the financial cost and opportunity cost of time that could otherwise be spent on classroom lessons.
I think kids might be more motivated by a term like field “adventures” or field “fun.” Parents might be uncomfortable with terms like field “work” as that denotes a labor activity. Ultimately, “lessons” appeals more towards parents and administrators who likely prioritize measurable results in learning as a return on their investment of time, money, and effort in supporting the students.