Considerations of Power

Words have power; they act as catalysts by pushing us to follow instructions. Furthermore, they either break or make, for example, when praised we feel happy, and when we are abused we feel low. On seeing a word or hearing it, minds have the ability to form concrete objects or recall certain concepts. The underlying ideas here are that strong images when used well enough, whether appropriate or awful, tattoo an idea or a product in the minds of the public. A good example of this fact is how the Indians are described. According to the writings of Christopher Columbus for travel journals, religious tract, popular novels and even academic writing, Indians are innocent, savage, stupid and untrustworthy. In the same light, when we see expensive vehicles we associate them with the rich (Truijillo, 2008).

Wilderness to the Indians was home but to the Americans who came from Europe it was unsafe. Therefore for them to settle there they had to tame it. It is wrong for Europeans to refer to the land as wild; instead they can use a term like well managed environment. This is because the Indians and the forefathers were living in it. This is reflective in the manner we view new things; we try to identify them with what we know, hence, exercising power over them.

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