Words Matter
On Wednesday, January 6th, I spent countless hours watching with horror as violence unfolded at our Nation’s Capitol. I had concern as an American, and even more personally, growing anxiety as I worried for my eldest son who works for a congressman and was holed up all day, under a “shelter-in-place” command in his Capitol Hill office. As dusk fell, and dark approached, I fretted about how he was going to get home safely. Would he be mistaken for a rioter by the National Guard? (Probably not in his suit and tie) Would he be recognized as a federal employee, and targeted by an inflamed MAGA rioter? I am sure that there were parents all across our nation, on both sides of the aisle, who had knots in their stomach and rage in their soul that inflammatory words could leave so many in jeopardy.
As I have listened to members of Congress recount the fear they felt as the flimsy doors that separated them from an out-of-control mob were broken in, I’ve reflected on the destructive power of words. Like most I’m appalled that the speech of a sitting president, his son, and his attorney placed so many in peril.
I’m still shaken by one image in particular: That of a congressman holding the hand of a colleague as she clutched her heart in terror. In this stark photo one can see that they are doing their best to hide, as thugs break the glass leading to their chamber. I can’t fathom their fear as they waited for the mob to arrive. I stare at this photo, and become overwhelmed by a dawning realization that these feelings of jeopardy, this posture of terror, has become all too familiar to too many, even if I have not had to feel such fear myself. I can suddenly see that for those affected by the words and policy of our 45th president, over the four years he sat in office, the threat felt just as real as it did for our congressmen and women that Wednesday. For immigrants, people of color, members of the LBGTQ community, and even some women, the posture of terror is all too familiar. I suspect that at some level this will continue to be true, regardless who holds office in this harshly divided country we call “home.” We don’t sit, glued to our televisions daily as we did on January 6th, but I think It’s time that each one of us take time to “stare” at the fear that so many feel every day of their lives.
Words matter.
We can all remember the most despicable quotes of the last four years; Words that emboldened the racist under-belly of our nation. Words that gave an overt wink to
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sexual predation against women. Words that mocked those with physical disabilities. Words that labeled immigrants as rapists and murderers. Words and policy that marginalized the rights of gay Americans. And, words and policy that sought to erase the identity of 1.4 million transgendered Americans when our HHS proposed a new definition for gender. Words matter.
Some of us may not find ourselves in ANY of these categories, but MANY others do. Many of our children, or the children of our friend’s live with such danger. We may best relate to an image of a straight, white, cis-gendered congressman and his straight, white, cis-gendered colleague hiding as danger bangs loudly on the door, but I beg all of us to take the time to transpose the faces of so many others onto this image and truly internalize this truth:
Words matter.
“Words have the power to inspire and to incite.” I pray, in the very depths of my soul, that we take this moment, that we take an intentional pause, that we resolve to be better. I pray we decide to never again simply roll our eyes, shake our heads, minimize, or turn away from destructive rhetoric regardless of our political stance, or our own personal distance from danger. I pray that when inciting words are uttered, even against those different than ourselves, our rage rises, our compassion deepens, and we become safe advocates in defense of those in jeopardy. In my wildest prayers I hope that we use our words to inspire others to do the same.
If we hadn’t fully understood this before January 6th, we do now: Words matter.
