If there was a Rogue's Gallery of Dangerous Words, "all" would be in there. Now mind you, "all" is a good word. You could say "all the seats in the room were taken," and that would be fine. Where "all" becomes dangerous is when you apply it to groups of people. "All Republicans are..," "All Democrats are..," "All Atheists are..," or "All organized religions are." When you use the word "all" in that way, "bad" things happen. In your desire to make a point you oversimplify so much that the statement is untrue. If "all" American blacks thought that "all" white people were prejudiced, this country would not have made the strides it has in combatting racism. The word "all" is divisive in instances like that and it can destroy the opportunity for diverse groups to work together in a common battle against injustice. The word "all" is the darling of prejudice. It is its very heart and soul. It paints the innocent with the same brush as the guilty.

Now I could use the word "all" in a good way by saying that we "all" are guilty of using the word "all" in a bad way. It may be carelessness, or speaking in the heat of the moment. Hopefully, none of us in here use it intentionally to divide people. And hopefully when we use it to oversimplify our argument, when we are called on it, we'll recognize the harm that a little three letter word can do.

If someone catches me using "all" in a bad way in here, please call me on it. It's a dangerous habit to get into. If you find yourself using phrases with the word "all" to categorize a group of people in a negative way, I'd encourage you to stop and reflect on it for a moment.

When someone uses the "all" word to judge a whole group of people they make it very difficult to work together in a common cause.

Jerry