Presidential words can turn the unthinkable into the thinkable − for better or for worse

From the Conversation:

Presidential rhetoric matters for reasons that go beyond persuasion or style.

It helps arrange reality. It tells the public what is serious, who is dangerous, whose suffering counts, and what forms of violence can be described as necessary. President Barack Obama did this in 2012, when he was speaking at a vigil to honor the shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“We bear a responsibility for every child because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours,” he said. “That we’re all parents; that they’re all our children.” With these words, Obama called everyone to feel, up close, the horrific loss of 20 children shot dead, and to work for a solution to gun violence.

Yesterday, I shared a call for prayer about the threats made by U.S. leadership toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. My hope was not only for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but also for an end to the kind of reckless rhetoric that can quickly spiral out of human control and create a crisis we can’t stop.

The article I linked above explains how this happens and why the way our leaders frame these situations matters so much.

People sometimes tell me I’m too measured in my language. But this is why. I wish more folks would try it, because what we’ve been doing isn’t working. Maybe it’s time to try a different approach.