To Name is to Have Power

 To Name is to Have Power - Catlynh Phan


    During class Dr. Reddick mentioned that to be able to name something is to have power over it. The specific example of Moses and God was given. God never gave Moses a name, he merely said "I am" when Moses asked "What is your name?" God does not give Moses a name because Moses does not have power over Him. 
    Outside of a religious context, to name something is to control people's perception of it. Language and words have connotations which give underlying meaning outside of the literal meaning. For example, when the founding father's names certain acts of the British government, "The Intolerable Acts." To them, naming these acts as such gave them a sense of power by controlling their perception to the public as something vile. 
    Naming something might even give purpose to the person or item. In a historical context, a name might align to someone's destiny, and a change in name might signify a change of fate. Trail names are an example of people assuming different names to demonstrate their change of their normal lives outside the trail. Their journey to meaning making is, in part, taking place by the change of their names.

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