This post might get political, but I’ll do my best to avoid that so we all can take something worthwhile from it.
Words do not belong to anyone.
Sure, you can attribute a quote. And yes, there are copyrights and trademarks and wordmarks and what-not. But individually, a word is no one’s possession.
A word is a concept – an intangible thing at best, and abstract and contentious idea at worst. It’s kind of a mindtrip when you think about it too much. (And I think I might have thought about it too much.) But it deserves mentioning in light of recent events.
Same word. Different definitions.
I’ve put a lot of thought recently to the word “patriot.” As of late, it has come to be representative of one side of the political spectrum, really one facet of one side. In other words, pardon the pun, the word has been co-opted.
I’m not writing this to judge anyone in any way—quite the opposite. It’d serve us all well to consider how we as individuals and groups define already defined words, and how that affects us all. To illustrate, we’ll use patriot as an example.
I consider myself a patriot. Always have. I’d wager that the people (our fellow citizens, mind you) who overran the US Capitol this week also consider themselves patriots. Our definitions, however, diverge.
I define myself as more of a turn-the-other-cheek kind of patriot. Their definition of patriotism includes attempting a coup.
Admittedly, it’s perhaps unfair of me to write “their definition” above. That’s because even among that group, patriotism for some meant simply walking and chanting, while for others it meant labeling officers “traitors” and assaulting them.
Perplexing, ain’t it? It is to me.
The difference is in how we define patriotism as seen in how we put it into action.
I’ve gotten just as misty watching the honor guard while hearing our national anthem before an Atlanta United home game as I have watching and listening to Tom Morello perform “This Land is Your Land” on YouTube.
For the latter, I might be called unpatriotic by some who call themselves patriots.
Shared definitions
Patriots love their country. We can all agree on that, right? But it’s in the defining that differences are derived.
Regardless of how we define them, or how divergent our definitions may be, words have the power. Much of that power is how they unite us. At its simplest, that power to unite comes through shared understanding.
Understanding, or at least the intention to understand one another, is something we all could use more of.
Marketing = empathy
Those of us in marketing, those in creative, public-facing fields, have a unique role to play in fostering understanding.
Why do we as marketers have the role we have? It’s because there’s the power to influence. And that means, on the flipside, we have the power to steer clear of misunderstanding and division.
So for us, the words we choose and the way we define them—whether written out or expressed in images—are more important than ever.
It seems to boil down to empathy. Do our words, definitions, and actions drive connection or conflict? Today’s world seems to need more of the former.
At least that’s how I define it.