the "s" word

One night at dinner, my 7 year old daughter was telling us the rules of her classroom, and my husband and I sat with attention as she told us, "we're not allowed to say all the bad words. You know, like the 's' word."

"The 's' word?" my husband asked almost afraid to hear the answer.

She leaned in and whispered, "stupid."

From this moment, something that now seems obvious started to dawn on me: this "s" word is a subtle, yet powerful, form of violence.  The teacher's decision to ban this word from the classroom was a measure to create harmony and peace among the students.  Brilliant.

And as I've tossed this around more in my mind, I see how much adults could take a cue from my daughter’s teacher.  The news and the political conversations that grow out of the news throw around the "s" word or one of its close cousins on a daily basis. We constantly belittle public figures, those who follow them, entertainers, even just random people who somehow end up in a glint of spotlight.

And this "s" word leads right into the middle of the "us against them" mentality.  Through labeling others as stupid, we can build these fences that divide us into different groups: those that know what’s going on and those that are stupid.  And at least in the U.S., this sort-of thinking has developed into a deeply ingrained cultural pattern.  There is a great deal of violence in cultural conversations, and these word and thought choices act as a subtle poison eroding our societal sense of unity.

Just because bloodshed, guns, and bombs aren't a literal part of our every day lives, it just takes moments to look and see the gaping cultural divides that separate us?  And each day they feel harder and harder to bridge.

But, I'm so unwilling to just accept that this is the ugly path we're destined to continue.  My daughter's teacher has done her part in creating a more peaceful world by teaching the growing children in her care that the "s" word is inappropriate for conversation.  She inspires me to find the ways to play my own part in bringing more peace to my words, my thoughts, and my actions.