A phrase I heard a lot, following that, was "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," which is basically just a fancy way of saying, "Stop complaining that you don't have any friends." I've always hated that phrase. It rests on the basis that words are just words. That they carry no weight, and that they do not affect the actions of others. There is absolutely nothing true about any of those statements. I'll never forget the irony of a sixth grade teacher repeating that phrase, "words can never hurt me," while standing right in front of a poster (that she had sticky-tacked to the wall) which read, "Words are weapons too."
Words are weapons in the way that a knife is a weapon. When used correctly, a knife is necessary, even vital to cooking and eating. It's a useful object, a good thing to have, something we use every day without even the slightest thought that we could slice somebody's stomach open just as easily as the potato we're chopping up. Some people are thoughtless with knives, and you'll find them in the emergency room. Some people are negligent of knives; you'll find their kids in the emergency room.
People are more careless with words. Thankfully, one cannot suffer profuse bleeding from a tasteless remark or a sassy comeback, but suffering is far from absent from the scenario. When everybody in the sixth grade is calling you a faggot, you're keenly aware that they're saying more than a word. They're saying, "Get away from me. I don't like you. You're disgusting. You're not welcome." When everybody in the sixth grade is talking about you behind your back, you're keenly aware that they're not just saying words. They're actively trying to hurt you. When everybody in the sixth grade is asking, "Why haven't you just killed yourself already?" you're keenly aware that you've actively considered taking them up on those words.
I use the sixth grade as an example because it was clear to me, even at age 11, that words held outstanding, overwhelming power. Perhaps, however, it would be more prudent to use a different example:
"Give me liberty, or give me death!" - Patrick Henry
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echos are truly endless." - St, Teresa of Calcutta
"Keep Calm and Carry On," - The British World War II campaign to prevent widespread panic after the bombing of London
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, in quite frankly the single most powerful ending to any work of fiction I have ever read.
These are not just words.
These are carefully selected, well thought out and articulated words. These are words that have withstood the test of time, not because people liked the letters on paper or the way they sounded. We know these quotes because of the powerful message beneath them, and the effect they have had on people, on nations, and on the world.
Yet, "words can never hurt me."
Carelessness with words has always been a problem. Today, that carelessness is running rampant through the internet, the media, and, as we've seen over the past year, the prevailing ranks of power in our society. As we move forward, it is not enough to simply condemn the words of others. We must also be careful of our own.
Though you may not have a national bully pulpit, the words you write on the internet are being read by a vast number of people. The words you speak into your webcam and post to YouTube can be heard by anybody. The furiously typed, pejorative rants you post without a second thought (or even a second read-through) are going to affect people. These could be damaging effects. Words can inspire panic, hysteria, pain, or misinformation. From the yellow journalism of the early 1900's that started the Spanish American War, to the e-mails exchanged between high ranking democratic officials that may have cost them election, words have incredible power.
Choose them carefully.
