Words and Symbols

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalms 19:14 (NRSV)

As we go even deeper into the election cycle it seems that more and more we are being exposed to words and symbols that carry weight and meaning but that a lot of folks just brush off because they are “just words” or “just an image.” I think this is directly related to that old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.”

A bit of information on that phrase seems in order. This is from the website http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones.html :

'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me' is a stock response to verbal bullying in school playgrounds throughout the English-speaking world. It sounds a little antiquated these days and has no doubt been superseded by more streetwise comebacks.

The earliest citation of it that I can find is from an American periodical with a largely black audience, The Christian Recorder, March 1862: Remember the old adage, 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me'. True courage consists in doing what is right, despite the jeers and sneers of our companions.

That reference to the expression as an 'old adage' in 1862 suggests and earlier coinage.

It seems to me that are allowing hurtful words and damaging symbols to become part of acceptable speech and decoration. I don’t care how someone interprets a symbol for themselves they must also acknowledge what it communicates to others. A Confederate Battle Flag isn’t just a sign of Southern Pride. It is also a symbol of an ideology that supported chattel slavery and a belief that human beings are of less value and worth because of the darkness of their skin. A plaque with the Ten Commandments in a courtroom isn’t just a listing of guiding moral principles. It is also a prime piece of the theology and belief systems of Jews and Christians.  

In this country we have freedom of speech which has been defined to include signs and symbols. I have every right to say what I want to say and adorn myself and my property in whatever way I see fit. But that doesn’t mean I am to be insensitive to what I am saying, wearing and posting. Freedom of speech isn’t freedom to abuse. It isn’t freedom to torture or bully. Sometimes our words and our symbols do this and when they do we have crossed a line. Tell racist jokes, have a swastika tattooed on your neck, wear your KKK robes and hoods but when you burn a cross, call for the elimination of people, treat another human being as of less worth then yourself you have moved beyond free speech.

We all need to take care and realize that our words matter. Our actions matter. Our signs and symbols matter. I want the world to know I am a Christian but that doesn’t mean I can go around hitting people with a cross. Difference and diversity are what make a nation, a people, us great. It isn’t that we all think alike, believe the same things or agree on all matters but that we allow for differences. Fr. Rohr writes in What the Mystics Know: “Law is the false promise for those who control life from their heads…those who substitute principles for prayer and people.” We cannot allow our words to become substitutes for prayer and people. We cannot legislate morality nor can we legislate one acceptable understanding of life and society. But this does not mean we have accept that anything goes.

I am struggling to get this Musing to make sense. That is one reason this is coming out on Monday instead of last Thursday. I know what is in my head, heart and soul but it isn’t coming out so clearly. What I want to end with then is this, words and symbols matter and I think we owe it to ourselves to limit both when they do harm.

Dear God, help me to say and do what builds others up, what brings life and light. Help others to do the same. Let us have our differences but let us all agree that we can disagree without maliciousness toward the other. Amen.