There’s a strange tendency of late to superficially apply “brand” to things that, to my mind, were never meant to be branded in the first place. Politicians are some of the worse offenders, branding party platforms, terms, talking points—even themselves.
Case in point: what was once called the “inheritance tax” was made more palatable by the Left by re-branding it the “estate tax,” raising the specter of class warfare. The Right, not to be outdone, re-re-branded it the “death tax,” leaving many to believe that anyone who dies is subject to a penalty. And all the while, the tax itself remained relatively unchanged.
The latest attempt is to re-brand “evil.” Apparently, it’s a matter of empathy deficit disorder. Psychopaths and narcissists should be seen as “disabled.” Conflict resolution is as easy as “two people meeting, getting to know each other and tuning in to what the other person is thinking and feeling”—if only we’d give it a try.
On the substance of the argument, color me skeptical. On the notion that you can change the very essence of something by simply renaming it—and calling it a “re-branding”—well…that’s an insult to good brands everywhere.
by Derek