On Sunny Lane: Words Mean Things

It happened again!!

Once again a person who disagreed with the status quo in government has resorted to violence to make his voice heard. This time it was not only directed to the President of the United States, it was directed to members of his cabinet, as well.

Where does the violence come from? Why are people so quick to commit it?

Of course, it starts in our hearts and minds, but there are many things that lead up to it. Name calling and labeling people are some precursors to violence that may cause it to escalate.

When I worked at the pregnancy care center, many years ago, young women would come there in a crisis situation, not knowing which way to turn. They were so focused on their dilemma that they were having trouble making a decision about their future.

The staff at the PCC were trained to use low-intensity words to diffuse the situation and calm the person down so she could think clearly and make an informed decision. That protocol could serve U.S. citizens well as we focus on a crisis in communication among friends, neighbors and family.

For instance, instead of saying someone is crazy, the low-intensity words might be mentally disturbed or irrational. Instead of lunatic, we might say a person is mentally ill.

On the other hand, name calling gets us nowhere--nowhere good, that is. When I was little, children would call others by derogatory names from time to time. My mother told me to ignore them saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

The sad fact is that names DO hurt! They hurt emotionally and they may lead to violence.

Take the word “Nazi,” for instance. What does the word mean and is the person exhibiting that behavior? Can you prove it, or are you repeating what you have heard on mainstream or social media? Is anybody terrorizing Jews and ostracizing them? Who are they? Where are the facts?

There are some people who accuse the administration of going against the U.S. Constitution. Have the accusers read the Constitution and can they cite exactly which passages are being transgressed?

We all have the right to free speech, peaceful assembly, free press and free exercise of religion, as outlined in the first amendment to the Constitution. However, we cannot legislate common sense.

Common sense would tell us that, if we assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, somebody, we will, most likely, end up in jail for life. It tells us that, even if we advertise that “hate has no home here,” words of hatred are just as wrong as acts of hatred.

I see derogatory terms and names being used by people in the media and in government.These are people who should know better than to do such things. They keep saying that, “We need to turn down the rhetoric,” yet they refuse to do it themselves. Maybe, they don’t even realize they are the guilty ones. In the meantime, their words are fueling more unrest and encouraging more violence. They don’t realize that they are indoctrinating vulnerable people.

We can do our part to tone down our speech, listen to others’ point of view and pray for us to live together without conflict. We can’t expect national figures to change their ways--unless they are held accountable for their speech.

In the end, we are only responsible for our own words and behavior. Let them be good.

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Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com