Name Calling Is For Children

When I was in elementary school, one of the cruel things the children would do would be to make fun of someone and use that person's name in a cruel way. They might taunt with something like, "Howard is a coward," or "Patty is a fatty."

The attack was mean, and since it involved the person's name, it was undeniably personal. It was often based on little more than a rhyme or similarity of sound. But, the simplicity of it made it catchy.

Last week, MoveOn.Org regressed to such playground name calling by referring to General Petraeus as "General Betray Us." It reminded me of the stupid attack Jerry Falwell once lodged against Ellen DeGeneres by calling her "Ellen Degenerate." It was vicious. It was personal. And by using the surname, it attacked the entire family.

We can disagree on a lot of things. But if we want to be taken seriously, we need to disagree as adults. We can attack each other's positions without making it unnecessarily personal. MoveOn.Org crossed the line on decency. They should be big enough to apologize and purpose not to resort to such childish tactics in the future.

That's my two cents.

Wade Houston
September 16, 2007