The Power of Words

Occasionally, while I am performing routine tasks on autopilot, I find myself pondering about the strangest things. People, human condition, the state of humanity...people-related things, essentially.

While I was taking a shower (no need to think too deeply about that oh-so-charming mental image), I started pondering. I am a quiet person, usually. Unless I happen to get involved in a converation that has something to do with a subject I am passionate about, or I am feeling particularly sociable, what few things I say are short and to the point. This can lead to conflict between myself and those I live with, as both people are talkative and energetic. One of them has learned that when I respond to questions with grunts and monosyllables, it's unwise to engage me in conversation. The other hasn't lived with me for far as long, thus she has yet to learn that little fact. This has led to some unfortunate situations where she has wandered up to my room chattering away, and I have ended up asking her with all the elloquence I can muster (usually not very much) to shut up. I always end up feeling terrible about it afterward. That's what got me thinking tonight.

Words are powerful things. With one word, you can make a man feel like the king of the world. Conversely, with that same word spoken in a different tone you can wound him so deeply he never really recovers. Words are a gift, allowing us to express ourselves the way no other species can. As I coast along, observing the general populace from the outside looking in, I see more and more that people seem to have forgotten the value of such an amazing gift. People toss around words as if they're nothing. Words that used to carry so much weight, so much meaning, are used as if they have no value. People say "I love you" on the first date in an attempt to get laid, and the person who does the laying doesn't think twice about it when their "lover" never calls them again. People will chatter away, but never say anything at all. Nothing they say has any real meaning, no real weight. It's all just inane babble.

Every once in a while, I'll meet a truly brilliant person. They're easy to identify. They're quiet, wistful, often lost in thought, but when they try to say something, it comes out as little more than a mumble. This is a great injustice...the people who really have something to say, the ones who think about something other than how long it's been since they've gotten laid/drunk/stoned/arrested, are stiffled by the masses. I have a message for all the people out there who want to speak, but feel that they can't:

When you feel the compulsion to speak, do it clearly, calmly, and loudly. If your words go unawknowledged, keep saying them until they're heard.