Words Matter

Do you remember a time when someone said something affirming to you and how amazing it felt? Or when someone's harsh words created doubt or fear? Words shape our world. They influence how we think, feel, and act. Words affect our relationships, decisions, and even our mental health.

It's so important to choose the right words.

• Words carry emotional weight that lingers long after they are spoken.

• A kind word can brighten someone's day, while harsh words can leave lasting scars.

• In the right hands, words can escalate or resolve conflicts.

• Calm, respectful language can open the door to understanding, find common ground, de-escalate tension, and heal divisions.

• Positive messages can inspire movements, while harmful language can fuel division.

As a writer, words are my tools and my desk, my workshop. I enter my studio each day, knowing my goal is to take my idea and, with just the right words, bring it to life.

Choosing the right words takes time... lots of time. I try, not only in my writing, but in what I say each day, to lift up, not push down, to inspire, not degrade, to love, not hate, and to consider others, not just myself.

Because I care so much about words, I was shocked yesterday when I learned what our president had said in response to the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife.

Today, I want to share with you words that are thoughtful and express what I am feeling much better than I ever could.

Maria Shriver is one of the most eloquent and wise wordsmiths I have found. I love her website, "Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper." Yesterday, she took the time choosing just the right words, even while she mourned the horrific murder of her friends, Rob and Michelle Reiner. Her comments are worth a listen.

And secondly, Historian Heather Cox Richardson, a political historian who uses facts and history to put the day's news into context. In today's post, she reminded me of the movie "An American President," a 1995 American political romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. I remember each time I have watched this movie, I am buoyed by the speech that actor Michael Douglas gives during his campaign. This is the leadership we need. You can read it in full here.

The final scene of the film is a speech by the president rejecting the pretended patriotism of his partisan attacker, who is cynically manipulating voters to gain power. It is a meditation on what it means to be the president of the United States.

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“For the record, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU,” Shepherd says to reporters at a press conference, “but the more important question is, why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question, why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman, and a candidate for president choose to reject upholding the Constitution?”

“America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say: You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as a land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now, show me that. Defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.”

“I've known Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it. We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only, making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it.

“That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.”

“We've got serious problems, and we need serious people. And if you want to talk about character, Bob, you better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card.… This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your 15 minutes are up.”

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The power of words calls for responsibility in how we express ourselves on digital platforms.

Words leave a legacy. Famous speeches, literature, and everyday conversations shape history and culture. Think of Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech, which inspired civil rights progress worldwide.

I want a leader who can be the prime example of compassion and strength during a crisis, whose words pull people together, comfort a sorrowing nation and inspire the best in us.

Instead...

Yesterday, his words were all about him. No compassion, no comforting a nation on one of the most violent days we have had, no inspiring words or leadership, no bringing the American people together.

Each day brings yet another set of his incredulous words.

Maria is so right....

Enough...Enough.