“The pen is mightier than the sword” Can written language really be so powerful?

Recent decades have seen an increasing belief in the idea that “action speaks louder than words” Actions are believed to be one of the stronger forms of expressing views as they are deemed to be more sincere as compared to the latter. However, there has been many doubts to how effective actions are in performing this role, especially with the introduction of written language, which may soon prove itself to be a worthy competitor.

For years, many have devoted themselves to the sword for it is a symbol of strength and power. A sword is used in battles and is the main cause of much bloodshed on the battlefields and soldiers are unafraid of using it, hence it is used as a means of symbolizing action over mere words. The advocate of the word believes that action is the strongest form of showing one’s innermost feelings. The pen on the other hand is just an everyday object we use, yet many of us fail to see how powerful it can actually be. A pen is used to write words, yet these words express feelings and emotions which could possibly prove to be more lethal than the sword. Hence advocates of the pen believe that written language can express emotions and surface hidden motifs far better than the sword itself.

Personally, being a student who immerses himself into the world of Literature and into the works of Shakespeare, I feel that the pen is indeed a mightier tool as compared to the sword. Whenever I feel the need to let out my innermost feelings, I find writing a more effective way of revealing my thoughts and emotions as they flow almost rhythmically with the swift movement of the pen. Whenever I pen my thoughts down, everything comes clear from the velvet sheet and the feelings hidden in me immediately becomes visible to the public eye. Having said that, it is not that I do not agree with the idea of using actions to express ones self. I have tried using action, yet I realize it often leaves me going for the politically correct idea and not what I really feel within me. Of course, opinions differ,

So, can written language really be so powerful? If we were to look at the context of the global arena, we would be able to see that written language has had a great influence in many parts of the world. The introduction of the new media has created a worldwide revolution, especially amongst blogging which has become very popular overnight. Online blogs have affected numerous decisions worldwide, some of which will be discussed in the later paragraphs. Blogging too, like writing, is a form of written language and although it does not involve penning down thoughts of a piece of paper, the functions of a blog are strikingly similar to that of a pen. A blog too, ‘pens down’ feelings and emotions through words, with the only difference being it done by typing on the computer as a medium.

The effects of blogging have been seen in the area of politics, especially in countries like the United States of America as well as Malaysia. In America, political blogs have been set up to slam John Mclain down in light of Obama, stating that his debate factors for the recent country affairs debate were “highly incoherent” and that he was irresponsible due to the fact that he had an alleged affair with Sarah Palin. Such blogs receive many hits per day and as much as one wants to believe that such blogs will not play an impact on the voting as people are matured enough to decide for themselves, the truth is that people are indeed influenced by whatever they read, even if it is to a small extent. Therefore, the outcomes of the votes will definitely be affected, and many believe that this is why Obama is currently leading in the polls. Similarly, blogs have also been set up to criticize Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia for claims of him spending the country’s money on his ministers as well as not taking care of the welfare of his citizens, thus leading some to believe those are the real causes of him having an alleged early retirement in 2010.

Referring to the situation above, it can be seen that written language is a powerful tool in influencing the mindset of someone. All one has to do is write down what he feels and that would be sufficient in swaying another individual of his own ideologies. The government could try to stop this by closing down such blogs and banning others from accessing such sites. However, such attempts are in vain as another site can easily be set up in a matter of just hours. Evidently, the influence of written language will be here to stay.

Apart from that, it can also be seen that written language is indeed powerful and has many benefits, which is exactly why students are made to study subjects like Literature. They learn how to appreciate prose as well as try their hands at crafting poems and critiquing texts so as to develop their skill of thinking out of the box. Currently, in countries like Singapore and Switzerland, academics are concentrated mainly in the arena of Science and thus, while students excel in Science related subjects like Physics and Chemistry, they are falling behind in terms of understanding emotions and thinking creatively which will be relevant for the future. Especially in Singapore, the education system needs a revamp and the government realizes this as it tries to inculcate studies relating to the arts into the education syllabus as far as possible. The Singapore government is making a concerted effort to promote written language and apparently this will be a necessary skill one needs to acquire in order to succeed in his future aspirations.

Written language is also powerful as it is shown to be effective in cultivating effective communication especially between that of parents and their children. Parents and children are of a different age group and due to this, it is common that they always clash due to their ideological differences. In Canada, when counselors are faced with such situations, they do not adopt the method of purely talking things out as they feel that the issue might just remain stagnant and not be resolved as there is a tendency for both parties to hide some of their feelings or become too emotional. Thus, what they do is to make the children and parents write letters to each other so as to allow them to understand what is going on in each others minds. This way, both parties will be able to better understand what each other has to sat and conflicts can be peacefully resolved in this manner. In fact, the relationship between the child and the parent can soar to greater heights with this manner.

However, some naysayers to the idea of written language argue that actions can also be used to solve the conflicts mentioned above and that it is not necessary to use written language. Then again, they do not fully understand that when one acts, he tends to act on his impulses and that might possibly be a wrong move to take. If we were to take the war between Afghanistan and the USA for example, the USA claims they are lodging this attack to prove their stand that terrorism should never be tolerated, but they fail to see how badly this idea has failed as it has brought negative impacts to both countries, as well as the rest of the world population in terms of economic revenue and others. Many people around the world feel that the USA has gone overboard with the dominance of Afghanistan and some even claimed that this attack was done not to solve the problem, but rather as a form of vengeance. This example clearly shows us how the sword might not prove to be a mighty item afterall.

Hence, it would be suitable to conclude that written language indeed can be very powerful as it helps to understand one’s emotions and motifs better than action itself. Nothing is masked, and things come as the truth where written language is concerned.