Sticks and Stones - Childhood Rhyme or False Claim?

Sticks and stones may break my bones, and names (and other seemingly painless actions) will harm you and humanity even worse.??

The famous nursery rhyme Sticks and Stones is meant to increase a child’s resiliency by implying that physical pain is worse than emotional, psychological, or spiritual pain.?

The physical damage humans do to one another, and to the world at large is minuscule in comparison to the long-term hurt and degree of damage that is inflected in emotional, psychological, and spiritual ways. Initially, the greatest hurt, damage, and destruction of all causes almost no physical pain like sticks and stones, yet the actions are pervasive and the damage done is permanent, to the individual, and to the collective, humanity at large.?

Following are the three initially painless but overall devastating pillars of social anguish which suggest the greatest pain of all is usually inflicted with little to no physical pain at the start.

Slippery Slope – The Slippery Slope is an idea or course of action which will lead to something unacceptable, wrong, or disastrous. An easy analogy to this is going to the gym. When you are on a role going to the gym or sticking to a diet, it is a bad idea to give yourself a casual break or day off. The rule of Slippery Slopes says that if you take a day off today, it is even easier to take a day off tomorrow, and then after that. If you have ever taken a constitutional law class, Slippery Slope is an often-used argument that every relaxation of a constitutionally imposed restraint is an invitation to justify some other or further relaxation of that restraint. The Slippery Slope is even referred to in politics. As an example, giving the government freedom beyond that framed by the constitution creates a slope toward the inevitable giving the government full control (it is often said and well known that that “free” government program is the first step toward socialism, which throughout the world has resulted in communism). The Slippery Slope is painless at the start, which is what makes it so dangerous. In fact, it may even feel good to take one day off at the gym, to let the government make small decisions for us, or to accept a free government stipend. The pain and its permanence come much, much later, long after one even can recall the primary decision made at the start.?

Indifference – Indifference is a lack of interest, concern, or sympathy. Indifference combined with the Slippery Slope is catastrophic. Indifference is where one does not care about anything. If you do not stand for something, you do not stand for anything. If you do not stand for anything, someone else will stand for you and take away everything. Many of the greatest catastrophes in the world were born out of indifference. The Nazi party, for example, started as a tiny party that condemned the unfortunate few. It was the indifferent masses that made their rise possible. Indifference is seeing a problem or need and ignoring it, for it doesn’t affect you.?It cannot be seen. It cannot be felt. It doesn’t physically hurt until you are on the receiving side of it. Believe in and stand for something. Or, you may as well be throwing sticks and stones. While one can argue that the act of indifference is painless, one should also consider this: indifference may really be the proxy of evil.

Labeling and its Ghastly Twin, Name Calling - “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me.”? At least it’s half right. In fact, a name or label can stick with someone forever. It can soak into their core beliefs about themselves until the day they die. It can affect the way they respond to the world and the people around them. I have mentioned in previous blogs that I was labeled “learning disabled” in school growing up. Disabled by its definition means that one is limited by a mental or physical condition. It wasn’t until my twenties that I realized that the real limit given to me was in?the label itself, “learning disabled.” Once I got past that, I realized I was very much able to learn, and in fact, I was an exceptional learner. Be careful how you label people and even more important, be most diligent in examining what labels you accept for yourself. Contrary to the nursery rhyme, names oftentimes do hurt and harm you.?

Can it be said that sticks and stones and breaking of bones is clearly the lesser of evils?