Words are powerful. In the world of politics, words are the instruments of positive engagement, building support for an action, position or initiative, but can also be the weapons of destruction, tearing apart an opponent to make way for a new course of direction. In this sense, public discourse can sometimes resemble a battlefield, where each side is firing volleys at each other, with ‘victory’ not always clear until some time later.

This is why the “public comments” period of the Lycoming County Commissioners Meetings are often the most exciting part of the meeting. The Tuesday work session on January 8th was such a meeting when at the end, a Jersey Shore resident again brought up a hot potato issue from the previous month about a county commission appointment.

In early December, Joseph Reighard was selected to fill an opening on the Lycoming County Planning Commission over Linda Sosniak by a 2-1 vote. Reighard was unquestionably qualified for the position, but there was some question over the procedural matters of his selection. The fact that Sosniak is a woman sparked outrage in a certain element of the community, as dozens came to the December meetings to voice their indignation over this alleged male hegemony in county affairs.

During December, the public comments section of the county commissioner meetings saw one person after other, almost all of which were women, complaining that the two who voted for Reighard (Commissioners McKernan and Mussare) were biased against women and that their decision was “arbitrary and capricious.” That word “capricious” stuck out to me because I would wager in a given month of conversation, I would rarely hear it more than once. Curiously, though, it seemed that at least a third of those standing at the podium to voice their ‘personal’ concerns sounded very much like they were an echo chamber.

It was a War of the Words. As Commissioner McKernan remarked, “It seemed orchestrated.” But why? Is an appointment to the county Planning Commission that critical? Really? In the big picture, yes, because it does come back to politics and “controlling the narrative.” Linda Sosniak is undoubtedly a very fine woman and has served in public office on the Picture Rocks Borough Council. But she is also a member of the Democratic Party, and several observers noted that it was more than coincidental that those many of the ones who packed the commissioners chambers to argue for her appointment to the Planning Commission were members of her recent failed state representative campaign. And it was not coincidental that the two votes in favor for Reighard were Republicans, and the one vote against (Commissioner Mirabito) was a Democrat.

And so it was that during a somewhat short and uneventful work session which was about to adjourn last Tuesday suddenly enlivened once again over the volley fired by this Jersey Shore resident. He made a lengthy complaint yet again about the appointment of Mr. Reighard and demanded that Commissioner Mussare defend a statement that he was alleged to have said that was quoted in the local daily newspaper about the appointment process. Mr. Mussare started to respond and barely got one sentence out before he was interrupted by the man who challenged what he had just said.

At that point, Commissioner Mussare used one of the powerful weapons in the War of the Words. He leaned back in his chair and said nothing. He refused to respond. He told the man that it was obvious that he was not actually interested in an answer but simply wanted to make a point, so Mr. Mussare rested his case. Sometimes one of the wisest actions is to not give bullets to the individual who has an empty gun aimed at you.

There are many weapons in the War of the Words. One is to beat a drum over and over with a powerful word. Mark Twain said the difference between the right word and almost the right word is “the difference between lightning and lightning bug.” This is why “capricious” was so carefully chosen. It is a word that virtually no one uses because it is a loaded word. To say an action is “capricious” generally conveys the idea of arbitrary, fickle, or careless. However, these are synonyms. As an adjective, the word actually means a sudden or odd or unpredictable change. So, by calling an action ‘capricious’ is quite clever, because it is a double-edged sword implying not just poor judgment but even an element of mental instability. It is a polite way of calling someone an idiot.

And this is politics, folks. As Roberta Flack sung so beautifully, it is “killing me softly.” The elephant in the room is the Republican Party which is the majority party among the three county commissioners, so the opposition must use an elephant gun to make their point. We see it played out at a state and national level as well, depending on which party holds the reins of power. It is a good lesson for all of us — words can inspire, and they can destroy, so choose them well.