What we say matters. And the way we say it matters. This is especially true in times of war, when the moral stakes are high. Which is why I’m troubled by the annihilationist rhetoric coming from the White House. It numbs our souls and corrodes our moral sensibilities.
On Easter Sunday, as an often-extended deadline for Iranian acceptance of American terms was approaching, Donald Trump issued a statement on social media threatening the destruction of civilian infrastructure, should their leaders fail to comply. At a press conference on Monday, he amped up the threat: “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.” The next day, Trump turned the dial up to eleven: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
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