Words have meanings.
And the specific words that become general usage when referring to a topic or a person often control the way we think about them. If you can win the war of the words, you are halfway to winning the political battle. The following are some other examples of how distorted meanings distort our perceptions of issues and people. Smith was the author of a diatribe against the role of Jewish teachers at the city's science magnet high school which earned front page ink in the city's leading dailies. Taken in the context of the community as a whole, the rantings of Smith against Jewish teachers are insignificant.