Words Create Worlds
Regardless of your political ideology or party affiliation, I believe that most Americans watched in horror as rioters surrounded and then broke into our US Capitol. It is appropriate to ask: How did this happen? And what, if anything, could or should we do differently to change it?
Any tool can be used for good or bad. A simple example is a hammer. I can use it to drive a nail or remove a nail, good, or I can use it to smash someone’s car window, bad.
I have learned that observational research can teach us a lot. By observing Donald Trump, you can see that he has mastered the art of using the most powerful leadership tool available, words. Unfortunately, he uses it for, in my opinion for bad. He seized on an already divided country and using his words illuminated and magnified much that divides us, empowering those who have hate in their hearts to be emboldened to carry out an insurrection on Wednesday, January, 6th, 2021.
“How did he do this?” you might ask.
Renown Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel said it best when he said, “Words create worlds.”
Donald Trump has mastered his use of words, lies, and the world we saw unfold was the result of his words. Too many Republicans dismissed Donald Trump's lies as that’s just Trump being Trump. While that’s true, clearly they didn’t fully understand the impact of his lies. Even before Donald Trump came down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president, he used words to attack others and stoke fear and hate, which was already boiling.
Trump has lied to the American people to the point where many among us believe him. Not because it's true or because he has facts to back it up, but because he has so confidently repeated his message over and over and over and over again. So much so that well over 100 Republican congressmen and senators chose to object to the certification of the electoral college stating they wanted a 10-day commission created to validate the election and restore confidence in our elections.
The real solution to restoring confidence in our elections is simple. Senator Mitt Romney said it accurately when he said, “No commission is going to restore American’s confidence in the electoral process. The only thing that will do that is to tell the American people the truth, Joe Biden won fair and square and Donald Trump lost.”
Unfortunately, too many of our elected officials play fast and loose with their words and are rarely held accountable for what they say. It reminds me of the old joke:
How do you know when a politician is lying?
The answer: Their lips are moving.
It seems to me that our elected officials don’t fully comprehend the impact their words have on their constituents.
What does this have to do with you, your life and your business?
Well, I have found that one of the most effective ways to learn about leadership is to observe others and see what works and what doesn’t. We rarely learn from leaders doing things well, because we take who they are being and what they are doing for granted. However, we are much more inclined to learn from those doing things wrong or we don’t like. What I have observed about Donald Trump is that he has mastered the concept of words create worlds. The problem is that he has done so by lying to bend reality for his personal benefit.
While I don’t want any of us to learn to lie, we can learn about how he was able to get so many people to follow him. He created a possibility, through lies, that others either got enrolled in or were consistent with their point of view and shared them over and over again, until people believed them as truths.
There was no fraud in the presidential election. Nothing was stolen from Trump. Saying so doesn’t make it true.
As leaders, the most valuable tool we have to lead is words. Words create worlds, and if we do so in a positive and inspiring way, people will follow. The greatest demonstration of the power of words creating worlds is the Declaration of Independence. On July 4th, 1776, our forefathers literally created our world, the United States, through the use of words and for 245 years, Americans have lived in a world created by those words and the words of our constitution.
Words create worlds, “Use only for good.”, please.