Warmongers

I grew up in a military family so maybe that's why I never really noticed this until now but what is it with us Americans and waging war on things? I googled "War On..." and came up with The War On - Drugs, Christmas, Terror, Poverty, Kids, Football, Women, Democracy, Childhood Obesity and even Words themselves just to name a few.

We have come to realize that words are very powerful and that the words we use say a lot about us and effect how we see an idea or a problem. How are we supposed to teach our kids empathy when we "attack" every issue we face with a war? The word war conjures up ideas like an enemy that must be destroyed, battle, bloodshed and death.

Out of one side of our mouths, we tell children to be civil with each other and to solve problems using their heads instead of their hands. Out of the other side, we wage war against the issues we're facing in our society. And now there's a War On Bullying.

The words we use with ourselves and others plays a huge role in perception. I tell kids all the time that the way we think and talk colors the reality of what we experience. If our thoughts and words are hopeful and positive, the world seems more safe and open to possibility. If our thoughts and words are dark and brooding, the world appears scary and unreceptive.

Maybe we'll start to make some progress on things like bullying when we stop waging war and start actively teaching our children about concepts like human dignity, fairness, respect and empathy instead of paying lip service to it or hanging a poster on the wall.  I agree that bullies need to be stopped in our schools but not as an enemy to be destroyed but instead as a human being in need of further education.