The Power of the Pen

Today is a good day to talk about the Power of the Pen.

Words are what make us different to other animals. Our thoughts and words affect our actions and make us who we are as a species. We survive and live together by communicating.

Lack of communication holds us back from advancing our existence and can leave the uninformed in a state of fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown is a very powerful tool to someone who wants to control other people. We see it time and time again in cult religions, political arenas and even communities.

Xenophobes, homophobes, paranoid and suspicious people are typically uneducated and surrounded by like-minded people. Preventing people from expanding their knowledge or deliberately taking advantage of people by introducing unfounded fear, has been used by powerful men over the history of mankind. They do so without any true regard for the people they are controlling or harming. Their egos make them believe that they are entitled to power over the people they brainwash.

The ego of man seems determined to make us assume that we are more superior to others. Few people ever really think they are in the wrong or that mistakes are their fault. Wise people admit to wrongdoing and take the blame. That is why wise people don’t make so many mistakes – they understand the consequences to others and themselves.

Empathy is vital for understanding at a deep level. A person entirely without empathy is known as a psychopath or sociopath. Other people, without personality disorders, obtain empathy by learning about people different to themselves.

Fear of the unknown often stops this process. Condemning many people under one racist blanket, for instance, leaves no room to explore the interesting and often wonderful cultural differences of people. When people are free to explore differences, similarities become more and more apparent. When similarities are recognised, fear disappears.

Fear is a powerful tool. People who want to control you use it all the time. Turn on the TV and retailers will be warning you “not to miss out” on the Christmas sales. They will show desperate people running towards piles of discounted goodies and tell you that you will “miss out.” Are they really concerned about you  – or are they concerned you wont give them your money? By making you scared about missing out on the “bargains” (ie. the stock they have left over after Christmas that they couldn’t sell) they hope to move your money from your pocket to theirs.

When people want to frighten you it is your right and responsibility to ask yourself why. When people fight against free thought or speech you have to question their motives.

Who else wants to frighten us in order to control us? Politicians? Religious leaders? Parents? Friends?

Some do. Some don’t.

How do you know the difference?

By reading. By questioning. By understanding that we don’t know everything. By watching. By making up our own minds and asking our conscious. By using our common sense. By seeing the effect of a controller’s actions.

This way we can recognise a fear monger and not give them the power they desperately want for themselves.

This is for the greater good.