In Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg’s excellent book, Nonviolent Communication, he discusses several forms of language that he calls “life-alienating communication”. He aptly shows how our speech so often obscures awareness of personal responsibility and decision making.
Instead of speaking with compassion to increase productive dialogue, we often try to force others to give us what we want, change them, or get them to behave in a “right” way.
As the results are proven to be less than desirable, we tend to react with accusing, attacking and demeaning them. We do this because we think they somehow “deserve” blame for their non-compliance. This puts us in an even worse position.
His insights, written decades ago, have proven to be extremely prescient. If only Marshall could see how far we have fallen from compassionate speech in 2022! It is painfully obvious to everyone just how out of touch our society has become with our God-given and natural state of compassion.
Moralistic judgments of other human beings abound on TV programs, news articles, in movies, and on each politician’s social media account. As they seek to prove how “right” they are, and analyze how “wrong” everyone else is, hearts and minds become more and more polarized.
If our nation’s present leaders, athletes and entertainers set the standard for speech and behavior, it certainly doesn’t bode well for humanity as a whole. The most judgmental and provocative voices blare loudly, while the peacefully dissenting voices are ridiculed and/or silenced.
The attempted coercion by the global health authorities to force a certain injected medication on every human being has left many resentful, and many others fearful.
Never has the blaming and shaming of others been so widespread, than during this pandemic. The dehumanization, demonization and intolerance for those who decline the state’s medication eerily hearkens back to some of the darkest days of human history.
Whatever your view about the safety and efficacy of these new gene therapy injections, the coordinated and unified effort to deny freedom of choice, and the obsessive attempts to force humanity to take a medical treatment is disconcerting. This will go down in history as one of our lowest points.
In my view, the blaming and classifying of the dissenters is the most alarming facet of this entire pandemic. It is this type of language which has historically preceded great violence, and even the mass extermination of human beings by the state.
Many have resisted the forced treatments simply out of disdain for the powers that be, or out of concern for adverse reactions. However, it is much more than that.
I submit that the strong resistance, in large part, can be attributed to the violent (i.e. “life-alienating”) language being spewed forth by national, state, and local governments in nearly every country on earth.
Their own language has proven to be their downfall as they unsuccessfully force the whole world to undergo these gene therapies, even threatening to deprive basic human rights in the process, such as right to travel, assemble, earn a living, etc. The more coercive, forceful, and intimidating they become, the more dug-in are the resisters.
If you are sold on the efficacy of these shots, this is a tragic outcome. If you view them to be detrimental to humanity, you will be glad the principles of Nonviolent Communication are timeless and true. Whatever the case, we are watching a world-wide, real time example of “life-alienating” language.
Life-alienating communication supports and stems from what Marshall calls, “domination societies”, wherein large populations are controlled by a small number of ruling oligarchs. The more people are trained to think in moralistic, blaming terminologies that imply wrongness or badness, the more they are inclined to look outside themselves for the definition of “truth”.
According to this theory, as people are terrified, shamed, and isolated by the powers that be, they turn to them alone for guidance.
For these oligarchs, the insurmountable problem presents in a freedom-seeking populace that resists tyrannical language. There is a reason authoritarianism has ultimately failed in every experiment in world history. People in touch with their own compassionate nature always bring it down.
No matter what direction this international crisis takes, we can learn that language which obscures personal responsibility and freedom of choice will never achieve one’s desired goals. In fact, using blaming and shaming language almost certainly makes one less likely to get what one wants.
Life-alienating language, which motivates through fear and force is ineffective because those in tune with their own feelings and needs do not make good slaves of the state. Instead, they react to compassionate language which implies choice and personal responsibility.
Furthermore, those guilty of judgmental words are, eventually, themselves judged by others (and, finally, by God). This is a universal principle which emanates from Scripture.
Jesus said,
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.”
Luke 6:37a
If our spouses, families, relatives, friends, and coworkers hear words from us which imply wrongness and blame, their rejection will be sharp. They will usually react by pointing the finger back at us.
On the other hand, to abstain from judgment, and bestow the gift of choice, is to achieve a new level of God-consciousness, freedom and compassion not known by the despots of this world. – Michael A. Hildreth
Excellent article! Thank you!