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WORDS THAT REPLACE THOUGHT

Reprinted with permission from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

LANGUAGE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. But it is so easily misused, especially when hooked to ideas that somebody is trying to get us to believe in. When crusaders or politicians use loaded words, hold onto your dictionary.

Consider the language about abortion. People who oppose abortion don't want to call themselves "anti-abortion" because "anti" is too negative. They want to keep it positive. They want to be for something. So they call themselves "pro-life." For life. Simple, right?

Except that "pro-life" implies lots of things beyond abortion.

Many abortion opponents support the death penalty. "Life" in that context means life in ...

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