We're going to play a little game. I like games. It's a word association game. I say a word, and you tell me what word comes to mind. It'll be lots of fun. Okay, ready? Here we go.
The word is......
POWER
What did you think of when I typed the word POWER. Did you think of money? Or maybe knowledge? Maybe you thought of power as a position. Or maybe to you power just means really really really big muscles.
If you answered any of the above, then I would tell you that you did a really good job guessing. And then I would tell you that you are wrong. I'm sure that now you are extremely intrigued at what I have to say, because obviously I have a better understanding of what POWER really is. Either that, or you are trying to make it look like you are busy at your computer. Don't ask, don't tell, right?
When I think of power, the idea that comes to mind is communication. And all of the answers above are related to communication. Money is used to communicate a need or desire. When I send you monthly payments, it is because I am communicating to you that I don't want you to post those pictures of me on the Internet. Either that or you are my credit card company and I am communicating my desire to have a good credit score. Of course, I would rather be blackmailed then have credit card debt. Come to think of it, I think my credit card company is actually blackmailing me.
Knowledge is meaningless unless it can be communicated. That's why our favorite teachers aren't necessarily the ones that know the most. They're the ones that engage us, and make the material they are teaching interesting to us. I don't care if my teacher is a virtual matrix of information- you have to be able to sell me what I'm buying.
If you clicked on my hyperlinks (and really, there's no reason why you shouldn't. They're always either a) funny or b) serious), you probably laughed at this picture. Which, regardless of how you feel about the man, is a very funny picture. But this is an excellent case-in-point- one of his biggest flaws was that he was not the most skilled communicator. Despite being in a position to be the most powerful man in the free world, he was scorned, mocked, and ridiculed- for many reasons, of course, but I feel that he could have tempered much of the disdain if he would have been a better communicator. This guy? He rose to power primarily because he can communicate effectively.
Clearly I have dazzled you to the point where you are ready to believe whatever I say. And if not, that probably has nothing to do with any sort of lack or shortcoming in my own abilities as a communicator. And, we're moving on.
All of the above was just a really long and slightly drawn out introduction to what I really want to talk about- words. Words are one of the key components to communication. Not THE key- I'll discuss that later. But in a verbal society, words are the glue that holds communication together.
For example, think of the word 'glue'. You read the word, and (I know that there are some razzle dazzle physiological terms I could use to describe it...I just can't think of them right now) and your brain processes that collection of symbols into a cohesive unit, and links to your prior interaction with what we define as glue.
Words link us- we are able to communicate much more effectively (especially via the written medium) because of the phenomenon of the word. We don't have to waste countless hours figuring out how to describe our environment to others- they know what 'trees' are, and 'grass'. We have a common ground, and thus we can spend our time discussing other things. Words are amazing.
And yet, words alone are not communication. In fact, statistically speaking, words are but a small factor in our communicative interactions. Things like voice tone, body posture, facial expression, and even intent are, realistically, much more important to communication than words are.
Do you remember in middle school when that girl you had a crush on you playfully said 'I hate you' when you made some sort of flirtatious smart-alec remark about getting a better score on the math quiz? Contrast that to times when you've told your spouse in a monotone, mundane, not-meant-at-the-time way: I love you. Sometimes our words betray us, and don't actually mean what we say.
It's why I don't get too hung up on swearing. I realize that words have definitions that are socially agreed upon meanings- but I also know that we are the ones that artificially bestow meanings upon words. It's more about the meaning of the word and context in which it is delivered.
For example, a friend of mine was talking yesterday about how somebody had basically jumped all over her case because she said 'gosh'. Basically, the argument was (and I've heard this before, towards myself) that she was 'using the Lord's name in vain' by using that word.
Let's assume for a moment that the statement is true- that when you say 'gosh', you are actually directly affronting the 4th commandment. So you decide that you do not wish to do this, and so you decide to use a different word. Let's even go so far as to say that you completely change the phonetic composition of your new word. Instead of 'gosh', you decide to say 'flip'.
Aren't you still taking the Lord's name in vain?
I would argue that yes, you are. You have merely substituted one set of symbols and sounds for another. Your context, your meaning, is still the same. Are you trying to tell me that if I say 'flip', that is somehow better than saying 'gosh', even though I mean the same thing?
As a Christian, I am told that I shouldn't swear. Okay, fine. So I'll have to find some substitute words for those moments when I stub my toe or smack my finger with a hammer...or when no other word can accurately convey my emotion. So I pick that different word. And I use that word.
IT'S STILL THE SAME THING!!!
I'm not in the clear just because I'm not using "the word". My thoughts are the same. My feelings about my throbbing thumb are the same. I suppose there might be an element of control if I can say 'frick' instead of an F-bomb. But that's just all behavior modification- you can train yourself to say certain words, without actually changing your internal composition.
These are just thoughts. I'm throwing them out there. You might disagree, you might think I'm completely off base. But you have to admit that it is silly to get so worked up about something as insignificant as a word. I said before that you have to be able to communicate in order to have power, and words are certainly a key in communication. I wouldn't be able to have this blog without words. And yet, words are merely one key on a gigantic key ring, and sort of a smallish key at that. Make sure that your heart, more so than your words, is in the right place, and you'll be doing okay.
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