Words have power.
The ultimate responsibility of any writer is to maintain a sacred awareness of the power of words. Great Power. And in the words of Spiderman’s uncle Ben Parker, (as written by the late, great Stan Lee):
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
When you think about it, all the world’s problems involve words, and all the potential solutions to those problems require words. All the world’s ugliness and beauty are words. What about a picture, you say? Well, a picture is equivalent to a thousand words. The mature, enlightened writer will accept the mantle that words have the pre-eminent power to make the world a better place or add to the green slime.
You’ll agree we’ve had about enough of the green slime? As a writer, we think before we write. Or, at least I hope so! We hesitate, because we know and have been on the receiving end of powerful words. Words from both “ends.”
If you believe in God, then you believe words communicated to you through the hand of a writer were inspired and directed by God, and that God started the universe with words. “His” words. Why ‘his?’ Because that scribe, writer or translator—who I’ll wildly guess was a man—could only imagine God to be male and nothing other than a man like himself. So, this particular God is of male gender. Eternally. The writer’s words, in my opinion, made God a “He.”
“Let there be light!”
In case you missed it, I’d like to point out that the first thing God does is create light. Further, in this belief system, the archangel of light is Lucifer. The Devil. Satan. Beelzebub. “Him.”
Ok. In my humble opinion, if yours truly had a checklist ready to go for the creation of the universe, I’m not quite sure that’d be first on my list. So there is practical organizational efficiency and prioritization and then there’s—thematic and dramatic impact! Check! And away we go! (Jackie Gleason, The Honeymooners).
Some more examples of powerful words:
> So let it be written, so let it be done
(Pharaoh Ramses II to Nefertiti, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments”)
> Never be petty
(The 37th President of The United States, Richard M. Nixon)
> Let them eat cake
(Possibly French Queen Marie Antoinette)
> Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose
(The 36th President of The United States, Lyndon B. Johnson)
> To be, or not to be
(William Shakespeare, Hamlet)
> 1488
(White supremacist code for “the 14 words and the 8th letter of the alphabet twice,” —suggestive “Hail” to someone’s “H” name)
> The gratitude should be commensurate with the boundless blessings we enjoy
(The 11th President of The United States, James K. Polk)
> Eureka!
(The viral exclamation attributed to Archimedes)
> I have a dream
(Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
> For they slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God
(The 40th President of The United States, Ronald Reagan, The Challenger Speech, quoting the poem, “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.)
> Yea, though I walk though the shadow of the valley of death, I fear no evil
(The Bible, Psalms 23:4 kjv)
> Be patient and calm, no one can catch a fish with anger
(The 31st President of The United States, Herbert Hoover)
> You burn me (Sappho)
> All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream
(Edgar Allan Poe)
> The beauty of me is that I am very rich
(The 45th President of The United States, Donald J. Trump)
> For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil
(The Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10)
> I can never accept being dictated to
(The 10th President of The United States, John Tyler)
Now, no one sits down expecting to write a document that will turn out to be the next Declaration of Independence, Magna Carter, Hamlet, or Tao Te Ching. Because the writers of these documents had the inspiration of aspiration, they believed that what were writing was more than words. They were attempting to describe transcendent principles for humanity. A higher purpose. They tried to reach a high place. A purpose and a place they believed with absolute conviction—without a doubt. The writers sought a mystical quality. Perhaps some sought magic or spirituality, but all some quintessence any human being in history or their future could recognize, admire, memorize and quote at dinner parties. That quintessence was a quality they themselves had seen in their own readings of others.
This is the highest calling for the use of words, The Holy Grail of words.
However, by far and away the most common goal—and in my opinion lowest purpose— for employing the power of words today is personal gain. Words are now the gateway to the wallet and bank account. Key words. Searchable Words. Hits. Cookies. Words today are most frequently used to get rich individually not to enrich humanity collectively. Good Grief! (Charlie Brown and Peanuts by Charles Schulz).
Consider how pop culture adopted the Big Mac recipe jingle, Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun (by Keith Reinhard, Needham Harper and Steers) that made McDonald’s Big Mac famous and their shareowners rich. Ok. It made them rich. They are rich. They got richer. You can never have too much of that special richness sauce. Rich is what’s beautiful, and what makes them, their lives and everyone and everything around them beautiful, right? Actually, it’s a rather boring story. . . unless—“It's Christmas Day!” said Scrooge to himself. “I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can.” (an enlightened Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)
For the record: just like words, money means nothing unless applied to a higher purpose for the betterment of humanity. And as people who love words, we
know there is wealth beyond riches, (shameless plug quoting poet, Girard Tournesol).
And for the encore record the name “Ebenezer” means the glory has returned. Word right there under our noses the entire time. Stealth. Genius. Power.
Whether salespeople or preachers, all make money from words. And if they are savvy in the digital age, those words appear as searchable quanta that again bring home the bacon. (Originally from Essex, England 1104 and in many various forms since until this modern version attributed a telegram from the mother of the first African American world boxing champion, Joe Gans).
Oh, there are a few silos of word genre where the reader’s demand for inspiration and edification intersect when it comes to money, but like an entertaining circus act, they fall flat from the real deal. A few examples here would be fortunetellers, /mediums and cult leaders. Oh joy.
Chose and use words wisely and life gets a lot better for you, for everyone.
Words are the best means toward the higher places and ultimate endings.
Peace,
Girard Tournesol
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