Wielding Words As Weapons
The Consequences of Trump’s Assault On America
Since Trump’s election we have seen soaring numbers of hate crimes. And although he has publicly denounced the behavior, you get a sense that he is rather proud of his scope of influence. Not surprisingly, we are also witnessing the utter disintegration of civil discourse and civility among friends, family members and neighbors. It’s as if Trump’s election has lowered our standards and stretched our patience to the point of combustion — threatening to burst into hate crimes and violence at any time.
Despite what some might think, Donald Trump has a keen understanding of the power of words, if not an exactly stellar vocabulary. Wielding them as weapons, he can drop a 136 character tweet with the power and scope of a nuclear bomb. Sure, most of his allegations are outlandish rubbish, but they hit their intended marks, inciting outrage on one side of the political spectrum and fear and loathing on the other. Like a radioactive mushroom, this hatred spreads quickly, destroying trust and deepening division among racial, religious and party lines. And whether intentional or not, today’s social, alternative and mainstream media act as blast winds in this toxic environment.
According to my estimation, approximately 75–80% of the President’s tweets are negative and/or fear-inducing. When he’s making a speech in front of the cameras, the numbers may be slightly lower, offset by his penchant for self-promotional hyperbole. He masterfully and consistently appeals the the basest instincts of his base, stirring a caustic cauldron of fear, racism, and xenophobia. The cause-and-effect dynamic of this hate mongering couldn’t be more obvious. Trump spouts hatred and his words ricochet all over our social, mainstream and alternative media feeds. We are absorbing this toxicity on an almost daily basis. To think it doesn’t affect us all on some level is both naïve and foolish. Because while most of us aren’t reaching for our baseball bats, shotguns or rioting in the streets, our patience for Americans on the other side of the political divide has dissolved. Our acceptance of people who are different than us has disintegrated. And our trust in our elected leaders and the media has utterly eroded. The tissue of truth, justice and decency that has connects us as a nation has been lacerated by our very own President. And continues to be… Every. Single. Day.
He may not have have a voracious appetite for reading, but make no mistake, Donald Trump understands the power of his words. With the fear-inducing catch-phrase, “You’re fired!” he was able to launch himself into relevance at a national level. With the accusation that Obama was an illegitimate President, he was able to launch his career as a politician. Ugly words were what powered his brand and propelled his campaign. He’s used them unsparingly to attack, disparage and defeat perceived rivals. Harsh words. Mean words. Threatening words. And like hate-seeking missiles, they hit their targets, create collateral damage and carve a gaping divide into the soul of this country.
So, Donald Trump, I am calling you on your bullshit. I think you know very well the power of your words. And if you’re going to continue spewing this wretched rhetoric, let’s call it what it is: violence. By labeling Mexicans as rapists, Muslims as terrorists and African Americans as criminals you are attacking innocent people. When you disparage sitting judges and insult the integrity of political opponents you are assaulting our Democracy. It should not come as a surprise to you if occasionally, people have the urge to fight back.
