Please note: this is not a pro-gun control or anti-gun control article. My hope for this article is that it makes you think about the power of words and the image they send to society.

Donald Trump. We have almost become immune to his words, his comments, his insults. But this week, he said something that probably made you cringe as well. During a Saturday campaign rally in Iowa, Trump made the following statement: "They say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody. And I wouldn't lose any voters, okay? It's like, incredible." (business insider.com) As a short disclaimer, he did say it was a "joke."

Last year, 13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms, and 26,819 people were injured. (gunviolencearchive.org) We have seen so many stories of mass shootings that our society has become numb to them.

I, for one, found Mr. Trump's comments irresponsible, and borderline egregious. Growing up, my mom taught me three lessons I would like to pass on to Donald.

1. Think before you speak.

Maybe if he had tried this, he wouldn't have made a statement about shooting someone in public.

2. Treat people how you would like to be treated.

Donald, if you don't want to be shot in the middle of 5th Avenue, you probably shouldn't joke about doing it to someone else either.

3. No one likes a bully.

By this point in the election process, Donald has taught us many things -- Hillary can't satisfy her husband, Chris Christie is fat, Carly Fiorina has an ugly face, he doesn't care for Muslims or Mexicans, and oh, poor Jeb Bush! Mr. Trump, it might be time to be nicer.

In conclusion, I urge the people who read this article to always think before they speak -- sometimes, the greatest thing in the world is silence.