“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” -Rudyard Kipling
The way we express ourselves in passionate debate reveals and shapes our minds. It also has an effect on our listeners, but I regard this effect as secondary to the truth that our own language defines and alters us as human beings. Just as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs alter human behavior and responses so does choice of words, especially when core beliefs and strong emotions are in play. The intoxicating effect of angry rhetoric both unmasks and alters the speaker. The cautions regarding drug use all apply here.
Language is rich in adjectives, metaphors, and invective. Words are tools and weapons both, and I am slowly learning that never should they be used with more caution and consideration than when feelings are running high.
Who has not carelessly screamed out an over-the-top insult (perhaps in traffic) in a sudden fury, only to be shocked by what has emerged from our mouth and mind? And how did we react? With shame? With soul-searching as to the source of our sudden fierce rage? Or with savage joy that we could wound another with our voice and brain?
Using words with care is really hard for me at times. As a child in the 60’s, I looked to the example of my betters to help express myself in a civil fashion: my parents, my teachers, our leaders, the press. Surely, they knew how to do it right-discuss the hard topics in a balanced, dispassionate manner. And for the most part, they did. I learned from them.
Recently however, much formerly civil debate amongst these groups has given way to invective, insult and false innuendo. Substance has given way to screed. Many of the icons I formerly looked to for guidance (not Mom and Dad, thank goodness!) have fallen prey to the boozy thrill of overwrought words, phrases and accusations without taking into account the harm it does to themselves or others. When reporting, politicking, debating, and teaching descends to the level of verbal mud-slinging, journalists, debaters, politicians and teachers are sadly diminished.
This practice shapes the opinions of the gullible, erodes the respect of the thoughtful, and dulls the perception of many already jaded by the endless litany of baseless libels. But most importantly, the abusers of words have likely irredeemably injured their own mental vistas.
Fortunately, one can still find thoughtful speech and measured discourse even regarding the most inflammatory subjects. You have to look for it hard, but it is there. And I’m relieved to see it in multiple venues: video, newsprint, and social media. I’m overjoyed that I find it emerging from multiple sources: young, old, progressive, conservative, from multiple ethnicities and races. To my way of thinking, these conscientious souls who resist the narcotic of insult and slander in stating their case show the greatest strength of mind and purpose.