Today in the Washington Post

Many of you may have read two interesting articles in the Sunday Washington Post today, that directly related to our post on language and how to speak about folks who develop differently than the “norm”, and specifically the use of the word “Retard”. For those of you who didn’t have that chance, I will recap them here for you, and footnote the articles, so you can read them in their entirety for yourself. But before that, I am going to remind you of some Scripture that you already probably know: Ephesians 4:29, 31-32 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Kathleen Parker’s editorial piece was entitled “Trig and political calculus”, the Trig in the title not referring to trigonometry, but referring to Sarah and Todd Palin’s son who has Down syndrome. The purpose of her article centered on the fine balance between privacy, and exploitation of her child while bringing the defense of people with special needs to the forefront when politics goes anywhere near the topic. I was unaware of the comments made by Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff, President Obama, and Rush Limbaugh on the subjects of special needs, using the word “retard”, and making distasteful jokes at the expense of folks who have special needs in the last month (some comments even stretched back to last summer).

In the Outlook section, Christopher M. Fairman wrote an article called “Saying it is hurtful. Banning it is worse.” The whole article is about using the word “retard”, and whether using this word is ever alright to use, though what the cost of banning it would be (as well as how fruitless it would be, since we’ll just find another pejorative term). It is odd to think that a word that originally was used to, as Fairman puts it well ” to convey greater dignity and respect than previous labels had. While the verb “retard” – meaning to delay or hinder – has roots in the 15th century, its use in reference to mental development didn’t occur until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when medical texts began to describe children with “retarded mental development”, “retarded children” and “mentally retarded patients.” By the 1960’s, “mental retardation” became the preferred medical term, gradually replacing previous diagnostic standards such as “idiot”, “imbecile” and “moron” – terms that had come to carry perjorative connotations.” He goes on to say that “it is only in the past generation that the medical term turned into the slang “retard” and gained power as an insult.” What makes particular sense to me is how word use changes over time, that ” invariably, negative connotations materialize around whatever new word is used: “idiot” becomes an insult and gives way to “retardation” which in turn suffers the same fate, leading to “intellectual disability.” While there may be another word to use, a negative connotation eventually is found.”

Isn’t it sad, that we as human race of people, created by God, are so disparaging to those weaker than us, those who our words hurt, and those who cannot speak for themselves? Isn’t it sad that instead of using words as God intended, we prove ourselves quite dexterous in finding new and hurtful ways to use our words?

There is a movement to remove the word “retard” from use entirely. What word will be next? Wouldn’t it be better if we could be kind with whatever words we are using, to the point that our speech would be wise, seasoned with grace, encouraging, building others up according to THEIR need, that it may benefit those who listen? That is the goal of our life, and hopefully a goal for you, too. Ephesians holds good counsel for us, as we live surrounded by an assortment of other people, both bright and not so bright, creative and non-creative, sporty and clumsy, quiet and loud, financially-wise, and not so great with money, color-blind, and great at interior decorating, musical, and non-musical. We are all so different with strengths and weaknesses, it seems that we could put our time to better use if we each spent time caring for others, encouraging their strengths, and closing our mouths when we feel disparagement, sarcasm or tearing-down in the name of building ourselves up.

Let’s hear that one helpful phrase again, to ring in our ears as we go: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Oh, that we each could do that, today!