Untitled

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words do permanent damage."

(author unknown)

I heard this line in a movie once, and it stuck with me. I was only a child, but I recognized its poignancy even at my young age. Probably because I was already intimately aware of the power of words.

I broke my arm when I fell out of a swing. It healed within weeks. I barely remember the incident. But what I do remember is every insult, accusation and threat my father ever hurled at me. And these were just fleeting spoken words. Written words have a permanence to them. As such, they have the potential for far more harm.

Words can lift you up, or drag you down. A rousing speech can incite a riot, a rebellion, a revolution. A thought-provoking poem can move you to tears. A good book can change your life, and a bad review can ruin it.

The absolute worst a sword can do is kill a person (and only once). Written words have the power to kill. But they also the power to heal. Is the pen mightier than the sword? The answer is yes.