The power of words

"We use our words." My mom must have repeated that sentence a million times as I and my sibs grew up, including times it was patently untrue. We weren't using our words, but once again we were reminded that rather than hitting each other, we were supposed to vocalize the real problems.

Oh, if only we all were using our words. And not just any words - Mr. Gibson would have done much better to have used his words before picking up the bottle of tequila and going driving rather than afterwards. Oops. And to have kept in mind another of Mom's sayings: "People are not for hurting."

Instead, more and more people hurt as Israel and forces in Southern Lebannon hurl rockets of destruction at each other. And each side takes comfort in demonized images of the other - we target only military, but they aim for civilians; we are good people, but they are bad. Enough.

Enough. Peace will not result from more people killing and being killed. "The bombing will continue until peace improves" does not work. We have known this all the way back to the Roman historian, Tacitus's description of the Roman treatment of Carthage: "They made a desert, and called it peace."