One of the most important lessons I have learned as a journalist is to say what you mean and say it clearly.

After spending the better part of the last week at the Wisconsin State Capitol, that is a lesson I would like to communicate to not only the tens of thousands of protesters who have appeared on the Capitol steps, but also to all those involving themselves at the national level. When conversations heat up, the real problem at hand can get lost in hateful and misleading words. Let’s not let that happen.

One of the most visible components of the protests has been the signs. The vast majority are straightforward, witty or even heartbreaking, but there are some that go too far. Comparisons to Hosni Mubarak, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler are enormously exaggerated and disrespectful to those who suffered under their rules. Others reference the “raping” of state employees, diluting the power of the word in its original context. Signs bearing crosshairs and death threats are also worrisome, and invoke the recent debate over the state of political rhetoric before the Tucson shooting.

These loaded words have also crossed into the language of lawmakers and other officials. Speeches delivered by senators and representatives have been misleading, spiteful and condescending. Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, one of the runaway Democrats who has emerged as one of the heroes of the union supporters, even went so far as to invoke a Hitler comparison in an address to protesters outside the Capitol.

Statements like these are uncalled for when equally effective, reasonable arguments are easily accessible, and their tone gives fodder to conservative voices across the nation to denounce what protesters are doing here in Madison. I would bet no one actually believes Walker to be prot?g? of an infamous dictator, but that does not stop opponents from using protesters’ language against them. The Wisconsin GOP compiled examples of signs and soundbites illustrating outrageous statements by union supporters, and they have a point.

There have also been rare acts of intimidation that completely lack reason. Crowds swarming the entrance to Walker’s office before a press conference screamed obscenities at members of the media and attempted to block their entry, giving the impression they were simply itching for some sort of conflict.

The protesters, however, are not the only ones at fault. I would laugh at Fox News describing the crowd as a “mob,” but I know millions have already taken in and believed the violent connotation attached to the word. Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck’s charged exaggerations, though expected, are even more damaging and saddening.

Liberals have spent years bashing the Right for similar rhetoric, and it has not taken long for media to seize on the hypocrisy. This is an example of where the nation’s eyes have truly turned to Madison, and it is the job of every visitor to the Capitol to act as an upstanding ambassador to fight misleading and negative representation.

For the most part, the protests have been remarkably peaceful. Signs reminding those nearby that this is a non-violent protest are always in sight, and crowd leaders have been visibly encouraging those involved to keep calm and respectful. National media outlets are right about Wisconsinites’ impressive civility, and that is an image we should strive to maintain.

Whatever your involvement is this week at the Capitol, keep your words accurate and level in tone. Set an example for media outlets and those representing you. If your argument is strong enough, that will speak louder than any charged rhetoric.

Signe Brewster ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in life science communication.