"The pen is mightier than the sword" – when has that proved true for you? Do you fight better with words or with your fists? In fighting with the words, do you tend to pout? Tease? Provoke? Ridicule? Do you get your best zingers by thinking quickly on your feet, or by composing your words on paper? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 666).
The
statement "The pen is mightier than the sword" raises the
question "To what extent are words backed up by the sword?"
Obviously, it is difficult to say with certitude that words alone are
effective if they are always backed up by the sword – the
underlying threat of violence or physical force in one form or
another. Another difficulty is discerning where words leave off and
ideas begin. For example, the word "liberty" is powerful.
But to what extent does the power come from the idea or concept of
liberty and not from the word itself (a symbol taking on the forceful
attributes of the underlying concept)? Since it is difficult to
differentiate and pristinely isolate the idea from the word, perhaps
one could just as well say "Ideas are mightier than the sword."
But words deal not only with intellectual concepts, but reveal
emotion and attitude. So in dealing with this question we need to add
another saying "Attitude is mightier than the sword."
We
can amplify the original statement as follows: the pen (or words or
ideas or attitudes) are mightier than the sword (the exercise or
threat of violence or physical force in one form or another). The
question asked was: "when has that proved true for you?" The first
response of many might well be that words are the only tool they've
ever had – never having significant authority or power with which
to threaten others. This is a disingenuous response for it is in the
nature of man to harbor power. For example, some of the most
significant exercises of power ever made were made by martyrs. We
hold the inclinational power to say "yes" or "no"
in thought and disposition if not in action. This power is what some
parents find so exasperating about their strong-willed
three-year-olds.
Words,
ideas, and attitudes greatly influence our perception and thus have
great power. The exercise of this power is characteristically beyond
control of the will. Much going on within and beneath the mantles of
thought and emotion are autonomous and have no easy levers of
control. None of us dare assume we are immune to being played up on
like an instrument – much like Iago played upon Othello. I am
greatly affected by the attitude displayed in others. When someone
has a good attitude, I find it almost impossible not to like them and
tailor my reactions accordingly. If someone expresses an idea that
arouses deep inner emotion within me, my "cool objectivity"
flies out the window. The sword simply lacks the power to control
perception as readily as words, ideas, and attitudes. In the
short-term the sword can control actions. But brute reliance on
force is a candle burning at both ends. Brute force is ghastly and
haunted by its own inexorable mortality.
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