Words Matter.

Dispensing language that heals, in the midst of words that wound...

Words Matter.

Yes, it’s also true that actions speak louder than words. But those words… they truly matter.

It’s a principle I emphasize to my own children, but I find that we as adults may need this reminder even more during these days of division and political unrest.

I’m so tired of being told to blame my neighbors, to blame a political party, to blame people who “don’t belong,” for the tragedies and acts of violence that unfold daily in our country. And if you are completely honest, I am guessing you might be tired of it too.

These tragic events are horrific enough. Precious children being murdered (or traumatized bystanders) while attending school. Masked men kidnapping people off the streets based on nothing but their skin color and language. Political violence that ends lives and threatens our freedom of speech. A genocide occurring right before our eyes, as the entire world watches. Just to name a few…

But the words that follow these tragic events amplify the division even further. The words that are spewed online and on the news and from political leaders become weapons that divide people far beyond the actual tragic event. The words become weapons that initiate a war of their own.

The weaponized words dehumanize people who are completely unrelated to the tragic incident of the week, people who are equally as horrified that violence is a regular part of headlines in the country that we love.

This week, I watched in horror as innocent lives were taken. And then I watched the ripple effect of that horror become amplified, as another war unfolded online. People I know in real life, arguing about how to grieve/respond/process the assassination of a well known political influencer, followed closely by another school shooting. Some people claimed the influencer had the status of a martyr, while others grieved the damaging effects this same person had on their own life.

It seemed impossible for people to simply sit collectively in their grief, or even united in anger. It was a constant game of blame and speculation and refusal to consider that other people may have entirely different lived experiences.

I watched as political leaders all the way to the top immediately speculated and pointed fingers at “the other party,” for these tragedies. I watched as a news commentator made insensitive and inaccurate remarks on air, and promptly was fired. I watched our state superintendent threaten to revoke the license of any teacher who made dissenting remarks online about the late influencer. I watched old high school friends call each other “mentally ill” as they shouted through their screens, unwilling to accept that someone might have a different view point than them.

The weaponized words widen the divides and deepen the wounds that already existed.

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My daughter came home from school this week, after sharing words of a different kind with a classmate. They were words that connected, words that honored, words that held humanity. They were words of Spanish conversation she shared with a classmate from Venezuela. This classmate reminds my daughter of her former teachers at her previous language immersion school, and she is excited to keep practicing her Spanish at her new school (in the middle of rural Oklahoma).

While she was speaking with her new friend, another classmate approached them and demanded they STOP speaking in “Mexican.” To be fair, perhaps this classmate simply felt left out, not understanding the conversation. Or, perhaps, they have been taught to believe that only English should be spoken in this country… My daughter responded with laughter and gentle correction, telling them the language is SPANISH, not Mexican. The Venezuelan friend chimed in, “yeah, we aren’t even from Mexico.”

When yet another classmate accused my daughter, “Well you’re not even SPANISH…why do YOU talk like that?!” She shared that, “you don’t have to be “Spanish” to speak Spanish… in fact, you can be from Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela…or America.”

In a single exchange, we can see both the harm and healing that words can carry. They can divide our differences or deepen our understanding.

Words matter.

Let’s choose words of life, humanity, and honor - no matter our differences.

We can have our own opinions, vastly different perspectives, and even be angry with the state of our country. We don’t have to agree on everything. But let’s dispense words that hold actual solutions, find common ground, and promote healing… not weaponized words that become their own war.

- Dr. Peek

An old photo of my babies… because it reminds me of all that is good in this world., in the face of a child. It also reminds me that our words matter most to our children. Because those are the words they carry out into this world, that echo into generations to come. Words matter.