Bruce Lear: In order to protect democracy, it’s important to study the words of the past, the present, and the future.

They say, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This child’s rhyme is cute, but wrong.  

Words wound personally, and words were a catalyst for a political lie that morphed into a January 6 storm threatening all future democratic elections.

Words matter. As Mark Twain wrote, “The difference between using the almost right word and the right word, is the difference between a lighting bug and lightning.”

Former President Donald Trump and his acolytes make an art of using the lightning words to ignite a base. Republicans would like to forget January 6, and for some, if it didn’t happen yesterday, it’s not relevant.

But in order to protect democracy, it’s important to study the words of the past, the present, and the future.

During his first presidential campaign, Trump foreshadowed what was to come. When he seemed likely to lose, he used words like “crooked,” “dishonest,” and “fake.” When asked during a debate with Hillary Clinton if he would accept the results of the election, he said, “I will tell you at the time.” At one of his October 2016 rallies, he promised, “I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election, if I win.” But the crowd roared.

As with a 70-degree day in Iowa in December, you could tell a storm was coming.

At a so-called “Stop the Steal” rally, Trump provoked the storm that came to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. His words ignited not only an insurrection, but a slow-motion coup that isn’t about the past or even the present. The coup is about future elections.   

Those on the right have tried to dismiss Trump’s January 6 rally as something like a pep talk, where speakers fire up the crowd before a big sporting event. Harmless and just a part of Americana.

But I’ve never attended a pep rally where the fans are wearing body armor under military camouflage, and are armed with pepper spray and bear repellent to incapacitate the other team.

Here are some of those words that all of the speakers, including Trump, later tried to disavow. For example, Trump recently claimed on a Fox News show that his speech on January 6 had been “Extremely calming.” Here are some of those “extremely calming” words:

• “Fight like hell, and unless you fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
• “We will never give up, we will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved.”
• “Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all about. […] We will stop the steal.”
• “Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”

And it wasn’t only Trump who used words to incite.

Rudy Giuliani said, “Let’s have trial by combat.” Not to be outdone, U.S. Representative Mo Brooks shouted, “It’s time to take down names and kick ass.”

Now, a look at the present. Trump is still the leader of the GOP, so it’s expected that he should endorse candidates. What isn’t typical is the number of state administrative offices that he is throwing his weight behind.

How do you get a Trump endorsement as a state secretary of state or attorney general candidate? Your only qualification needs to be that you say the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.

So, what does that mean for the future? We now know, Trump loyalists were hatching a plot to get compliant state legislatures in swing states to replace Biden electors with Trump loyalists. We also know that pressure was put on secretaries of states to find votes.

With that in mind, If the people endorsed by Trump win in the midterm elections in 2022, a free and fair election in 2024 is not guaranteed. Specifically, Trump is trying to make sure those counting the votes in 2024 are more committed to him than to fairness.

Yes, words matter. The child’s rhyme may need revision after the Trump legacy. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, and words can really hurt us all.”

Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and retired after 38 years of being connected to public schools. He was a teacher for eleven years and a regional director for the Iowa State Education Association for 27 years.  

Top photo by Sebastian Portillo: Trump supporters rioting at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, available via Shutterstock.