What's something more destructive than an all-out nuclear war between countries over the world? What's also something that could unite allies and enemies together to build an entire nation together? It's not bullets, money, or nuclear warheads, but by the words and symbols communicated between the two sides. Words aren't just letters on a paper, they're a way to deliver a message to others, indicating whether you're hostile or friendly, and they in return to react to your choice of words. Full blown wars could occur in an instant just by mere sentences with the declaration of war as well as the building of a sanctuary for the poor with long paragraphs of words. Words are the keys to unlock the door of love and unity yet can be abused to be the harsh winds that blow open the gates of hate and spite.
Words are just tools for people to communicate their thoughts, ideas, comments, etc. to other people. It seems so simple yet complicated because over the years words have developed more than being just words, they've become meaning. When someone says that they're fine, are they really feeling fine or just a way to shrug off a concern coming from a friend. When we talk about the weather and describe how the weather is becoming worse, is that what we really want to talk about or do those words about weather convey another message about your current mode and pessimism? When someone creates humor, they create it through the play of words back then; now humor is created when there's a play on irony in the words that make a typical scenario abnormal and seemingly "funny." As you see words are such a versatile tool used to convey all sorts of messages. Some of these messages are delivered directly through clear, concise words with no other meaning in them; some messages are delivered indirectly with a twist on the meaning of words like sarcasm or the tone in which the words were delivered.
As you can see words are used for so many purposes, and it's up to the sender of those words to decide what message they will deliver and often these messages conveyed by words could bring dire consequences. Have you ever met someone who's always being critical of things and pessimistic and you just generally don't want to hang around him/her? Do you know someone who always seems cheerful and gives compliments to everyone they meet? Have you met an extremist that always pressure others to follow their ideas and be assertive and aggressive in their words? The words are still just words, but the words that build into the message delivered could be the building blocks for you to either love the person or hate that person.
When we turn to people, who use words "formally," we often see them use complex words that have vague meaning in them. Why is this? This is to prevent any indication of aggression or emotion in those words and deliver the message as straightforward as possible without including any other hidden messages. Formal messages seek to deliver only the message the sender intended to deliver. So they would carefully select their choice of words, so no hate nor love is delivered, but they are seemingly changing as we see more and more people throw away the art of words and choose to deliver messages through poorly chosen words that include messages the sender intend or did not intend to send.
We seemed to have lost the art of words from the past. Our words are now going out through our mouth by going through our minds first and thus bring upon unexpected consequences. Especially in an era with such controversy and distrust, we need to be wearier of when to use words, how to use them, and where to use them. Sometimes we don't need to spout out the obvious or say the truth when we would clearly disrespect someone. Sometimes we don't have to use offensive words to get our points across and argue our ideas. Sometimes we don't have to bash everyone we disagree with hateful language and nonconstructive words. Sometimes we could create humor without bashing the dignity of a person. Sometimes we don't need to be hateful and malicious with our words. Sometimes we can make the world a better place filled with love when we just think before we talk and consider the consequences of our words before they come out. We were granted the great ability to talk and with great powers comes great responsibilities; your words make the difference between day and night for someone.
