Wordslingers

In 1960, John Sturges directed the American Western film, The Magnificent Seven.  The movie (a remake itself of Seven Samurai) tells the story about seven gunslingers hired to protect a small village in Mexico from a group of marauding bandits.  It was so popular that it spawned three sequels, a television series, and a remake.  Moreover, countless other Westerns mimicked the concept.

These movies tapped into a few critical truisms.  First, there will always be people, who are confronted by bullies, that lack either the will, courage, ability, or disposition to respond on their own.  Second, the American people cheer for the underdog and like to see the bullies pay their just price.

Times change.  We no longer need gunslingers, at least not outside of our proud and robust military forces.  I served as a soldier when I carried, maintained, and fired my weapon.  It is my fervent hope that I will never need to raise a weapon again in defense of our country.  The landscape has changed as well.  The battle ground has shifted to an infodemic of sophism, politicization, misinformation, and disinformation aimed at the American people in such a way that political ideology supersedes safety and security. 

More simply put, words have become weapons.  Words matter.  Words are powerful.  We no longer need to take the hill.  We need to seize the message.  We need to become Wordslingers.  And we can become magnificent.

I have been reading about protests and resistance lately.  In fact, I even found a document online called Resistance Guide by Paul Engler and Sophie Lasoff.  They make some compelling points.  On of them is that we must polarize the issues, in “terms of right and wrong,” forcing people to take a side.  We must challenge the status quo and speak to the heart, not the head.

They also remind us that “putting our faith in politicians makes us forget our own power.” 

Take the recent example of President Trump pardoning all 1,500 J6ers.   We need to articulate that action in terms of right and wrong.  1) He said he would consider them case-by-case.  He did not.  Lies are wrong.  2) He and his constituents claim to be pro-police.  Some of the J6ers who were released attacked police, killing one of them.  Killing police is wrong.  3) Some individuals who have already been released have claimed their behavior has been vindicated and validated.  Individuals who have harmed and killed other Americans who feel they are not only just, but protected as well, are a physical threat to the rest of us.  Free, unrepentant violent offenders are wrong.

We can leave no stone unturned.  Seemingly little things matter.  In fact, Al Capone was not tried for the murders he committed, but rather tax evasion.  The President swore an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  The U.S. Constitution establishes the rule of law, which means that everyone, including the government, must obey the law.  The President and his staff took deliberate action to change his website, WhiteHouse.gov, making it no longer 508 compliant and accessible to all Americans.  This violates the law established by the Americans with Disability Act.  The President broke the law and in so doing, violated the constitution, and therefore, already invalidated his oath.  That is wrong.  He has broken other laws already as well and/or is attempting to do so, but maintaining that list is not the point of this first paper.

I wrote a separate paper, FEMA Truth, explaining his false statements about permits.  He is trying to plow through things quickly, before folks have time to register his actions, under the guise of fighting over inconveniences.  The same could be said about his attacks on diversity and LGBTQIA+ individuals.  Someone should have taught him that inconvenience is not a justification for injustice. 

Pendulums shift back and forth.  But they do not move completely on their own.  So who will push the pendulum?  We can no longer depend on the national news media.  Many of them have already admitted they are an entertainment business.  And President Trump has pretty much won that field of polarization, with his “fake news” mantra, creating an environment where millions of Americans believe him over others, even when there are facts and videos that demonstrate his falsehoods.  More falsehoods have been captured by The Guardian.  But don’t take their word for it.  Follow his exact quotes.  Then follow the truth.  Then follow the money.

So, who, then, should take up the mantle of resistance and protest?  Us.  The American people.  We need to be Wordslingers.

Some of the resistance advice is disturbing to hear.   One of the strategies is to fight fire with fire.  If he lies, we should lie.  The opposite of that is the failed concept of, “when he goes low, we go high.”  I refuse to become a liar to defeat a liar.  But as a Wordslinger, I am prepared to bully the bully.  That doesn’t mean I will start calling him President Musk.  Or Liar-in-Chief.  I won’t point out that he is just a measly millionaire among billionaires. All of those are petty, will only fan the flames of his base, and they miss the target.

We Wordslingers need to be active, consistent, honest, but also brutal and direct.  We need to call him out each and every time, with brevity, clarity, and evidence. We also need to keep challenging the hypocrisy of his fan base.  You don’t get to support the release of a J6er and still say you support the police.  You can’t pretend to love your sister who is transgender when you support a president who says she does not exist.  You can’t support your deaf uncle and support that he no longer has access.  You don’t get to say that you support the military while supporting a man who fires officers just because they do not agree with him.

The lines of resistance have already been drawn.  We Wordslingers need to dare to be great.  We can make a difference.  We can push the pendulum.  We need to be firebrands, opposing illegal authorities and unconstitutional acts.  We need to use our words.

The character Vin Tanner, played by Steve McQueen, in the Magnificent Seven, said “We deal in lead, friend.”

We deal in words, friends.  Words matter.  Seize the message.