"Actions Speak Louder Than Words" is Misunderstood

On the word usage by MAGA Americans

There are people who will say they are good virtues Christian and then later post on social media about how they hope immigrants are deported to an El-Salvador hellhole prison and get raped. The whole MAGA movement has made me reflect on the disconnect between words and actions.

Hence, I found myself reflecting on the saying:

Actions speak louder than words

It occurred to me that words are actions too. Let me, clarify. When a mafia boss orders a hit on another person, he only utters words. Somebody else pulls the trigger. Does that mean the mafia boss only used words? That he performed no action?

Likewise, the words of Donald Trump have a profound impact. When he tells his underlings to do something, it has consequences for numerous people. Hence, we cannot understand "action" as merely physical action with your hands and feet. But if words can represent actions, then what does "Actions Speak Louder Than Words," really mean?

Let me use another example. Mind you, this is my reflections and interpretations of the slogan. It is not like I am giving you some kind of official scholarly rational. Rather, I invite you to reflect on the point I make. I believe you will find it reasonable.

Imagine a man says he is a "good and kind person." Those are words. But then in his real life he mocks disabled people. He belittles his wife. Talks down his son, and spreads racism online.

Is he a good and kind person? Of course not. Those are just empty words. They are not reflected in his actions. But it so happens that those actions are carried out through words as well. Being kind to someone can mean saying the right words to support them. Showing compassion for someone through kind and considerate words is different from simply declaring, "I am a kind and compassionate person."

So what is the difference between these words? I actually struggle with finding the appropriate terminology here. But one way to look at it as to suggest that "I am a kind" person are empty words. Contrast this behavior with talking to a person with severe self-doubts and telling them what makes them a good person, a talented person and a good friend. Words that help build them up. Those are things a kind person would do. And often being kind is a question of what you don't do. Such as not belittling and attacking other people for living different from you or making other personal choices.

Imagine someone expressing they are happy to live as a single mother, and you attack her for being a single mother. Accuse her of being a bad person for not staying with her ex-husband. Those are the markings of a person who is not very kind or generous. A person who is constantly looking for flaws in other people. Looking for something to attack or belittle.

And sometimes kindness is not about merely expressing kind words. Sometimes, kindness can mean using mean words. As an example. When a bully picks on another person. You may use rather unkind words to put that bully in his place. Just as protecting the weak sometimes can involve using violence. But the question is against whom. To stop a bully from attacking somebody else, you might need to use violence, just as defending someone else might require the use of harsh language.

Sometimes actual physical actions mean less than your words. There are men who will buy jewelry or shoes for their wives. Or they will go get her a special kind of food on the slightest whim. Jump in the car and get it. But the same guy can be someone utterly incapable of actually sitting down and listening to his wife. Well, he might hear the words she says and be physically present, but he isn't actually listening. He is not taking her words to heart.

She might tell him that "I do not want shoes or jewelry. I want you to listen to me and respect me and my wishes." Mind you, this can go both ways. I know a man who asked his wife to not bake him chocolate cakes because he was getting fat and wanted to stay in shape.

Did she listen? No. She kept making them because she knew he loved chocolate cake. Could he have chosen not to eat it? Of course. But this is a little like knowing you are an alcoholic and asking your wife to not buy beer. Then she buys beer anyway with the rationale: "you look so happy when you drink beer."

This is what I call "performative love." When you perform some kind of grand gesture (or smaller one) to prove your love and affection. It is like when the knight tells his lady, "I will win this tournament for you." Except his lady never wanted him to risk his life for her. But to him, it is desirable because it is a magnificent display of his supposed affection. "Look how I will risk my life for you! Doesn't that prove how much I love you!"

No, actually, it doesn't. It just shows that this person is in love with their own image of an affectionate person. Today, charity has sometimes become like the tournament. It becomes a performative gesture to show how "good" a person is.

You have people like Jeff Bezos who will underpay his employees and work them to the bone. With the money saved, he will later use that money to give charity so he can bask in the sunlight of the great philanthropist: "Look at me! Look how charitable I am!"

He is no better than the knight rushing into tournament. It is all performative. Elon Musk is another interesting twist on this kind of "performative love." He states he is making Tesla electric cars and SpaceX rockets to "save humanity."

But when it comes to actual humans on the ground, there is a different story. His Tesla car factories have had numerous court cases about rampant racism.

Read more: Tesla settles with Black worker after $3.2 million verdict in racism lawsuit

He fired Twitter employees with glee while mocking some of them with disability.

Read more: Elon Musk mocks laid-off Twitter employee with disability

He laughed when he cut off aid to millions of people and fired thousands of federal employees. All made to feel little and worthless by him inventing fake performance reviews saying they did a bad job and needed to be fired. Zero proof. Just bending the rules in whatever way to get rid of people as fast as possible.

He would go out of his way to be cruel to people while casting the whole thing as somehow saving America. You get why I talk about performative love? He is like the husband who loudly proclaims his love for his wife while he denigrates and mocks her daily.

Lately, I have had discussions with MAGA Americans who loudly proclaim how they are for free speech, liberty and the American constitution. Yet, that is all performative. In action, as in the words they express in relevant contexts, they are clearly not favoring any of that. When you argue again due process for people accused of being illegal immigrants, then you are not supporting liberty or the American constitution. When you support masked agents breaking into homes and dragging children and women out of bed because you suspect them of being illegal immigrants, then you are not supporting liberty, human dignity or anything the US Constitution is about. And I can say that without even being American. That ought to be shameful to these MAGA Americans.

When you say Trump should be able to ignore court rulings, or think it is fine that government employees swear an oath of loyalty to Trump, then you are just pissing on your own constitution. Words like "I support the US Constitution, freedom, and liberty" are just empty words. You do not prove those beliefs in "action." And by action I mean actually using your voice and standing up for freedom when it is being stomped all over by the Trump regime.

Some of these guys have told me straight out that they believe Democrats have no right to be in government and that they should be persecuted. They call for impeachment of judges ruling against them. They want to sue the media criticizing them or putting journalists in prison. Furthermore, they cheer on journalists getting hit by rubber bullets.

It is easy to say "I am for free speech," but if you cannot stand up for journalism and journalists when they try to report, then that is just empty words. Your claim of supporting "free speech" is nothing but performative.

How do you show in action that you actually support free speech? If you are Elon, it means not firing people at work who criticize you. If you are Trump, it means not removing government leaders or employees because they are critical to something you do.

This gets me to a pattern I noticed with the MAGA right in contrast to the left. MAGA are primarily concerned with their rights. It is all self-centered. Very little of their energy is directed at protecting the rights of others who are different from them. On the left it is often the opposite. The people who stand up for are often entirely different from ourselves.