Brian House's Rooster's Perch: The Language of Hate By Brian House, London, KY, September 20, 2006 There was a time when people of differing opinions could amicably agree to disagree. The tenor of contemporary conversation has reached such acerbic proportions that disagreeing peoples are left in positions so polarized that little if any hope remains for peacefully resolving disputes. If this were just a phenomena occurring among small town neighbors this angry rhetoric would be more easily dismissed. Events both in this state and elsewhere suggest far more dangerous consequences are in store for us unless we harness our inclination to speak in hate whenever we choose. Joseph Ratzinger gave a speech recently at a far distant college. In his remarks he spoke critically of the Muslim religion characterizing the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by sword the faith." I read a lot of Mr. Ratzinger's work when I was in seminary. He was always critical of anyone who disagreed with him including members of his own church. I paid him little attention in those days. Now that he is Pope Benedict XVI his words carry far greater weight. Since he purports to speak for the one true faith he is the face and voice of Christianity to the non-Christian world and his remarks certainly cast Christian thinking in a light at least as confrontational as the image of Islam he conveyed. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke at the United Nations last week and called President Bush " the devil" and accused America of the "domination, exploitation and pillage of peoples of the world." When University of Kentucky law professor Roberta Harding, an African-American, was dissatisfied with the outcome of the Taquan Neblett murder trial in Lexington last August she derided the death penalty sentencing verdict rendered by a racially mixed jury as "a modern day lynch mob" and "what you've just seen is white racism run amok." Never mind that the jury had two non-whites on the panel and the verdict had to be unanimous or that the presiding judge Gary Payne is also African-American. What is going on in the world when the Pope, a head of state and a law professor say absolutely nutty, inflammatory things that serve no real purpose other than to agitate and incite those who hear their remarks? These are intelligent people who know better and precisely because they do know better they do it anyway. They succeed in raising awareness of their issue at the expense of peace in a community and possibly peace on earth. Language can achieve wonderful things. President Roosevelt's fireside chats, President Kennedy's visionary speeches, Billy Graham's powerful sermons and President Bush's healing words at the World Trade Center in the days following 9/11 are all examples of speaking to heal rather than screaming to destroy. The Pope has apologized, Hugo Chavez has flown back home and Professor Harding has been rebuked in the Lexington media by one of the jurors she slandered. Their words however cannot be recalled. Some people will hear only the hate and never believe anything else. Maybe that is the lesson we can learn from these ill-timed statements. What we say and write assumes a life of its own so we must be careful and think before we speak. All of us must be willing to assume the consequences that flow from our words since words incite people to action. I will never be anything other than a Christian. I am not however, willing to condemn another religion and incite the world to go to war over my faith. I still believe God has more power than any army on earth and can take care of himself. Our leaders should resist the temptation to engage in religious demagoguery that could draw us into a global religious war. Someone recently questioned my Christian faith because I do not think or write like a conservative Republican. Were their remarks the language of hate? Maybe. Absolutely nutty? You bet. I did not know God was a registered Republican. It is time to acknowledge we can have spirited and lively debate on any topic without resorting to the language of hate. Getting down from my perch now…