My parents were fond of maxims. One of my dad's favorites was, "Actions speak louder than words."
Mom would counter with, "Think before you speak. Your actions have to match your words."
I learned early, as we all do, that words can shout; they can whisper or sing, bring tears, intimidate, condemn, celebrate, incite, or lift.
On January 6, 2021, Americans witnessed right-wing groups of extremists attack and breach the security perimeter of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., forcing a lockdown and halting a ceremonial vote to confirm Joseph Biden's victory over Donald Trump as President of the U.S. While lawmakers hid in locked rooms, Capitol police attempted to hold off the protestors from further ransacking of offices, stealing of Congressional property, and threatened lynching or killing those inside. Defying the Electoral College vote following affirmation by numerous state courts and attorneys-general, the takeover resulted in the death of five Americans.
That morning, former President Trump had spoken to his supporters in a park nearby. "...You'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength, and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing, and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated - lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your votes heard today."
Later, he said, "We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue - I love Pennsylvania Avenue - and we're going to the Capitol. And we're going to try and give - the Democrats - are hopeless, they never vote for anything, not even one vote - but we're going to try to give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don't need any of our help, we're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue." (Transcript by FACTBA.SE)
Trump never used the words "storm" or "breach" or "break into" the Capitol. It was a subjective call whether "you have to show strength" and "take back our country" were actually messages condoning crimes of violence. His supporters interpreted his words as a call to action.
Fourteen days later, on January 20, 2021, a 22-year-old Harvard-educated African-American National Youth Poet Laureate named Amanda Gorman wove her words into our collective consciousness at the inauguration of President Biden. Resplendent in a bright yellow coat, her flawless skin glistening and her red velvet headband holding piled plaits, we watched her bubble ring with a caged bird (loaned by Oprah Winfrey as a tribute to Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) lift and descend, riding imaginary waves as she recited her poem, "The Hill We Climb." In a lilting performance she called upon us to unite with her words:
"...We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it/Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy/and this effort very nearly succeeded/But while democracy can be periodically delayed/It can never be permanently defeated.
..."The new dawn blooms as we free it/For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it - if only we are brave enough to be it."
(Excerpts from NPR as quoted in "Amanda Gorman Reads Poem 'The Hill We Climb' at Biden Inauguration" by Amy B. Wang and Stephanie Merry, The Washington Post, 1/20/21)
Yes, words do matter.
