If you can't say anything nice...

Thumper had it right, and I bet your mother told you this too:

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Thumper: He doesn't walk very good, does he?
Mrs. Rabbit: Thumper!
Thumper: Yes, mama?
Mrs. Rabbit: What did your father tell you this morning?
Thumper: [clears throat] If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all.
(from Bambi)
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What's with all the name-calling?

The healthcare reform act and this last weekend's debate has brought out nastiness and irrelevant name-calling that is reminiscent of a bunch of third-graders.

The ill-named Tea Party really got going in DC, hurling epithets at various Congressmen. And it's gotten worse, with vandalism, threatening faxes, and even death threats against the children of lawmakers who voted for passage.

Unbelievable. Scary. Disgusting. Discouraging.

But there is more.

While I do not support Rep. Stupak's anti-abortion stance, he did come around this weekend when President Obama agreed to issue an Executive Order reiterating the Hyde Amendment. But when Stupak -- a Congressman who has consistently been anti-abortion and worked hard for his cause -- was speaking in support of the bill, one of his colleagues, a Rethuglican from Texas, shouted "Baby killer!"

Even though he backpedaled quickly about his intentions, it is still name-calling in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber. He is a representative of the people who live in his District. He ought to know better -- and I bet his mama didn't teach him to disrespect others like that.

Name-calling speaks more loudly about the person doing the insulting than it does about the target. It is indicative of frustrated anger, resentment, and an inability to actually address a controversial issue with substantiated facts.

And it is wildly inappropriate for such labels to be slung so recklessly during a session of the U.S. Congress. Especially by those in the political arena --

When protestors resort to threats of violence and hurtful labels that have nothing to do with the issue under consideration, they deserve to be arrested and themselves investigated.

Healthcare reform is now the law of the land, and we all -- ALL -- will ultimately benefit. If you don't know anything about it, start reading. (Medicare and Social Security had their detractors too, remember.) But ferpetesake, if you want to say something, stop with the nasty namecalling and let your words reflect some thought and intelligence. Or "don't say nothing at all...