Cherish All Lives

I disagree with the Black Lives Matter movement on just about everything, but I admire their brilliant choice of a motto.  They've picked something that no one could possibly disgree with.  Of course black lives matter!  But what does that mean?  Well, it was started in reference to police killings of blacks, so it must imply that we have to cut down on that.  But how?  Defund the police?  That doesn't follow, and it's far from something everyone would agree with.  Somehow, however, people who agree that black lives matter find themselves swept up in the defund the police movement.  And since police obviously aren't going to be totally defunded, they start thinking about what else they can do to stay on the right side, the safe side.  That begins by putting "black lives matter" on all their web sites and telling people that we must do more to stop racism -- which is quite a jump from the bland assertion that black lives matter.

Saying "black lives matter" is inherently racial, but it's also obvious, so it appears like a neutral statement.  So much so that people who counter with "all lives matter" are considered racist, even though "all lives matter" doesn't mention race and "black lives matter" does.  Why would it be racist?  Because it seems to deny the reality that black lives are not valued in our society and blacks are killed, mistreated, and generally undervalued disproportionately.  Never mind if there is actually any evidence to support that "reality."  If you agree that "black lives matter," you must agree with it; and if you assert that all lives matter, you must not agree with it, and therefore you must not think that black lives matter.  Thus the power of a slogan to direct thought.

I like to come up with effective titles and slogans, so I have given some thought to this issue.  It is difficult to counter "Black Lives Matter," and "All Lives Matter" clearly isn't doing it.  I think the counter slogan needs to be more active.  The power of "Black Lives Matter" lies in the way it implies that society does not think black lives matter.  Saying "All Lives Matter" is obviously a response to "Black Lives Matter," but without the implicit idea that society doesn't value all lives.  ("Blue Lives Matter" was more effective, I thought, but it is also very particular.)  The counter-slogan needs to be something that poses the same implicit contradiction to society's actual values, and preferably something more active that just saying "something matters."

The best I can come up with at the moment is, "Cherish All Lives."  This implies that society does not cherish all lives, and that we need to do so.  It encompasses "Black Lives Matter" because, if it is true that black lives are not valued, then clearly anyone who believes "Cherish All Lives" must believe that this is a wrong that needs to be corrected.  But it also gives us room to say that police lives matter, white lives matter, even disagreeable people's lives matter:  it's not about race or ideology, but about love and humanity.  If you truly believe that all lives matter, then I think you should believe that we need to Cherish All Lives.

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