We have seen, throughout this electoral campaign, as in previous ones, the importance of the words used, of the formulas, of the small sentences. We were able to see their power, and how an unfortunate word can sweep away months of effort.
franceinfo: How can we explain that everything passes, at this point, through words?
Claude Halmos: Political life particularly highlights the importance of words. But it exists in all areas; and it is due to the very function of words. Humans, because they speak, are forced to use words to inscribe the reality around them in their heads, to think about it, and to talk about it to others. And from there, they set up visions of reality that are obviously subjective, and as numerous as the people who think about it, or talk about it.
From the moment, for example, when two people see a chocolate cake, and say to themselves: “Here! A chocolate cake!”, there is no longer just one cake, but two. Because, the words always associating themselves, as soon as they enter the head, with other words, which are already there, and with what they evoke, there will be for one, a good reassuring cake, which reminds him of his grandmother, and for the other a cake to avoid, because it can make her fat.
And is that what gives words their power?
Yes, because when words can impose a vision of reality, they can become a weapon. And it can therefore be used either to help others (with positive words, which repair, which rebuild). Or, on the contrary, to manipulate them (by telling them what we feel they expect). And above all, as in politics, to fight them, by building both an image of oneself (thanks to language – benevolent, or on the contrary muscular – adapted to the character one wants to embody), and an image of one’s opponent .
We can, in a few formulas, give an image of him which will then, even if it is false, represent him by replacing what he really is.
And we see that too, in life, and tragically, in a phenomenon like bullying. Where people can see themselves represented by an infamous image of themselves, which they can no longer escape.
Can we fight this power of words?
There is a trap of words since, used skilfully, they can be used to deceive by transforming reality, sometimes even making it forget. What Wladimir Putin is trying to do, for example, by prohibiting the word “war” from being used to name the one he is waging in Ukraine.
But we can avoid falling into this trap if, instead of taking the words at face value, we make sure to question the reality they cover, to find out if the vision they give of them is really accurate. .
And, in the age of social networks, it would be important to teach children, and especially adolescents, at the same time the importance of words, their danger; and the work to do not to be fooled.