We live in a world where fears and phobias, hatreds and prejudices exist. That's the simple part. The hard part is . . . does it matter to you? Are you affected by it? Do you work for social justice? Are you someone who prejudges based on the color of someone's skin or the kind of outfit they wear or how big or small they are? Race, class, gender, religion. . . all of these have people who support and detract, all of them are extremely complex issues that won't get figured out in a tiny article like this.

Phobias--irrational fears--are just that. . .irrational.

Now there's the new kid on the block, Islamophobia. Actually, the term isn't new. It made its debut in the 1980s, but didn't become popular until after 9/11.

Is Islamophobia a fear? Is it rational or irrational? Could Islamophobia really be just another brand of racism?

We frame our world through words every day. It's all semantics: meaning expressed through language.

For example, we use the term homophobia to describe the irrational fear of homosexuals. However, we do not use the term heterosexism which would suggest the superiority of heterosexuality. Wouldn't heterosexism be more accurate? Who's afraid of homosexuals these days anyway?

The following article was interesting just in it's debate over the term Islamophobia:

http://townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2007/07/31/why_islamophobia_is_a_brilliant_term

Whatever you think of the existence or non-existence of 'Islamophobia', it is always educational to see how the terms that are used in the media, in our lives, are constantly framing what we see around us.

Words have enormous power. Words can irritate and incite and enrage, or they can soothe and placate and calm. Words, when used with precision, set the frame for your listener to accept what you're saying. In doing so, you lower resistance and objection with your affluent prospects.