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Words Are Words, Violence Is Violence: How to Speak Truth and Build Peace in Any Country, Any Culture
Words Are Words, Violence Is Violence: How to Speak Truth and Build Peace in Any Country, Any Culture
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It was a quiet morning on September 13, 2025.
I was in my kitchen, coffee steaming in my hand, when the broadcast cut through the stillness.
Governor Cox’s voice carried a weight that made me stop mid-sip.
“Words are not violence. Violence is violence.”
He was speaking in the aftermath of the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk — a tragedy that shook the country.
And in that moment, I knew this book had to be written.
It was a simple statement, but it hit me like a lightning bolt.
We live in a world where words can ruin reputations overnight, where people are called out, canceled, and sometimes crushed. At the same time, real violence — the kind that breaks bones and destroys lives — is still with us. Somewhere along the way, we blurred the line between the two.
This book is my attempt to help draw those lines clearly again, not so that we can be careless with our speech, but so that we can handle words — and each other — with greater wisdom.
Admittedly, I am not a great orator, nor was I an exceptional student, but I have always been a relentless seeker of truth. I’ve spent my life turning over ideas, asking difficult questions, and refusing to accept easy answers simply because they were popular. My words may not be perfect, but they are honest. This book is my attempt to draw a line in an age where lines are being blurred — to separate what wounds from what destroys, what offends from what oppresses, what can be forgiven from what must be confronted.
I believe we can reclaim civil disagreement, heal divisions, and find ways to talk to one another again. That begins with courage: the courage to say hard truths, the courage to hear hard words, and the courage to stop short of harm when anger flares.
This isn’t a legal textbook or a political manifesto. It’s a guide for ordinary people — people like you and me — who are trying to live morally in a complicated, noisy, sometimes cruel world. But that leads us to a deeper question: what is normal?
If you’ve ever felt hurt by words, or worried that yours might hurt someone else, this book is for you.
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A thoughtful and engaging read, this book examines how we utilize language to prevent, mitigate, or address violence.
Few people have the presence of mind to recognized when their emotions have been captured. If you do, this is likely a very useful book.
Words Are Words, Violence Is Violence is a brave and thought-provoking book that talks about how dangerous it is to be silent and how important it is to speak out to end violence. It teaches people how to talk about hard things and use words to explain, be honest, and become better. If we all work together to promote love and peace instead of violence, we can all live in a better world.
This book definitely made me stop and think about the power of our voices and the impact of our words. While I'm always a bit skeptical of self-help books, I found this one to be surprisingly insightful. It offers some interesting perspectives on how we can use language to promote peace instead of violence. Overall, a thought-provoking read that made me reevaluate the way I communicate.
This book provides a lot of food for thought on the power of language and the importance of speaking out against injustice. While some of the concepts felt a bit idealistic, I appreciated the practical tips on how to have difficult conversations with grace and courage. It left me feeling motivated to use my words more thoughtfully and to be more conscious of the impact they can have on creating a more peaceful world.