Picking up where i left off, I feel that between Language and music, we have a taste of some sort of god-like power. Words and speech have such a moving and profound effect on the human mind.
Wars have been fought over the words in books. Am i exaggerating? Nope! Two very famous books, the bible and the Quran, have caused feuds and bloodshed for centuries since their conception. Harmless words, put together by the copulation of a pen and a mind.
And just look at the effect, "The Communist Manifesto", went towards toppling entire governments; in "Mein Kampf", Adolf hitler, went ahead and penned everything about himself, his racist ideologies, and his plans for the Greater Germany, all in plain sight, and yet, he rose to power to commit all of his madness.
How? With great oratory, and the right blend of words, One can move, convict, inspire, degrade, uplift, console, control, lead and mislead. One can rally, and blind the masses, to a feverish fervour, or bring a person to his knees.
Is that not what the essence of power is; The ability to control. Coupled with the ability to create, and manipulate, is that not the power of a God!
Of course, not on the scale to speak into being planets and universes; but on a more human scale. The Jesuses, Mohammeds, Gandhis, Napoleans, and even the Hitlers of human history; are but a small testament, of the marraige of the words and voice, and their daring manipulators.
Like what you quoted... Ideas are bulletproof. And what clearer way to communicate an idea than through the written word.
ReplyDeleteThere's a communications theory (Harold A. Innis) that says that the duration of an empire and its structure is determined on the technology of its communication. It's not only the idea, but how far it can be distributed through space and time, and how long a message can last (eg. engraved in stone vs. broadcast for a few seconds), that gives words power.
Hence the power of the written word because its easily reproducible, can be read at the reader's pace, portable, lasts fairly long, and is independant of delivery style.
Under circumstances, people choose to be gullible. Having heard/read the same thing over and over again, most take it to be truth.
This world is manufactured from a mess of ideas, don't you think? Most take it to be real, to be the truth of life. Its tells us what to do with our lives, lists the choices we have... it scares me to think that there may be some truth out there that the whole world is oblivious to.
I wholeheartedly agree. It sounds very conspirationalist, but i am definitely of the thinking that the majority of us are way to secular and content with the state of being around us! People need to pen more consequential stuff down!
ReplyDeleteI quote V too! lol, "Behind this mask, Mr Creedy, Is an idea, and Ideas are Bulletproof!" haha