Words are Triggers, Allowing Emotions to Control Our Lives

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart God, if there is one, must have a tremendous and somewhat cruel sense of humor. He gave mankind strength, resilience, and in some, great intelligence and wisdom. However, with the exception of a handful of the rarest of individuals, He also placed great weakness in every human being, which is usually triggered by often meaningless and baseless words. Politicians and the mainstream media control their supporters with the use of carefully chosen words and phrases. Throughout the history of the world, tyrannical leaders used words to inspire loyalty and incite violence on their behalf. Love and hate, trust and fear, anger and understanding, apathy and compassion, war and peace, these opposites are frequently twisted in efforts to brainwash the uninformed. Let me digress for a moment. I don’t have heroes. I do have people and their ideas for whom I have great respect. I believe that the greatest lessons in life are the result of listening to wise men and women and a...