By Laurie Bergner
I recently spent some time with folks of a different political persuasion than mine, something most of us rarely do these days. One thing I was struck by was their assertion that “it doesn’t matter what Trump says, only what he does.”
I couldn’t disagree more! Words matter. They matter a lot. Let’s start with Trump’s campaign words promoting a ban on Muslims. Anti-Muslim hate groups are a fairly new phenomenon, beginning after 9/11. They stayed fairly steady until last year, when, following Trump’s promise to ban all Muslims, hate groups against Islam proliferated, almost tripling in number. And attacks on Muslims have increased along with them. Words matter!
How about Trump’s repetition that Mexicans are drug dealers and rapists, and they are responsible for violent crimes. A new study shows that social media “likes” on hate group tweets and comments rose more than 900% from 2014 to 2016. Anti-immigrant groups attracted the highest average number of followers, with anti-Muslim groups following. As Jorge Ramos, Univision anchor, says, hate is contagious. Can we draw a line to the shooting of an Indian immigrant recently? And likewise, hate talk includes anti-Semitism, which always rises during periods of increased hate. Look at those attacks on synagogues. Words matter.
I recently read an article by a researcher from Slovakia, who wrote that his country lived under what he termed a “ruthless and charismatic” prime minister, Meciar, who was much like Trump. Elected in 1989, he ruled for 9 years until he was defeated in 1998. Here’s how he described him: “his larger-than-life personality and bombastic rhetoric filled much of the media space, often with lies and conspiracies. Notoriously unstable, he lashed out against critics when under pressure, and rejected experts who, he argues, didn’t understand Slovakia’s exceptionalism.” The good news was that he was eventually defeated; the bad news is that the damage he caused continues today. Corruption opened the door to enriching politically connected businesses, and the public’s mistrust of government has contributed to a rise in political extremism. He concludes “It all goes to show that, in Slovakia as in the United States, nurturing the institutions of liberal democracy requires …ensuring that liberal democratic governments are seen as legitimate and effective at delivering …justice and security.”
So this brings me to another critical issue: Trump’s attacks on some of our most important democratic institutions are damaging. Calling the media an enemy of the people, insisting the media is lying any time it criticizes him, and lying himself so brazenly, all lead people to lost trust in our media. Our press is a bulwark of democracy, the ones to hold government accountable. Undermining it is essentially undermining our democracy. Add to that his attacks on our intelligence community, which provides government with essential information with which to make informed decisions on critical domestic and international issues, and you have the most fearful situation that we have ever faced.
Never underestimate the power of words. And the importance of fighting damaging words with constructive words.
Laurie Bergner is a clinical psychologist in private practice, working with individual adults, families and couples. She also works with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, helping organize candidates forums, educational programs, and many issues in the field of law and justice. She has received many recognitions in both fields, including YWCA’s Women of Distinction in the Professions, Leaguer of the Year, LWV Special Project Awards, and the LWV of Illinois’s prestigious Carrie Chapman Catt award. Laurie has a wonderful husband and two grown children – also wonderful. She loves biking in the countryside, reading, and traveling.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media, Inc.
