In the end, words will triumph

This column was originally published in the News & Record on January 24, 2007.

Ideas are bullet proof.

- V for Vendetta

This past summer, I found myself in a conversation with a friend of a friend about the true power of the pen versus the sword. I, of course, stood firmly on the side of a pen victory in an epic winner-takes-all battle, while the friend stood firmly in opposition, no doubt with images of a heavy, sharpened blade a la the Knights of the Roundtable.

I will side with the pen any day if only for the beauty and simplicity of its power. At the root of human existence are dueling needs: to be unique and to be understood, and in that way find community. Words, by allowing us to share our individual perception of the world with one another, fill those two needs at once - through differing perceptions, we see our individuality and, through agreement, we find our community. Of course, that’s not the only reason words are powerful.

While I admit that it is hard to beat the intimidation factor of a well-handled weapon, a quick look at the state of the world is enough to see that the pen is the undefeated champ and there’s not a sword, IED or biological weapon strong enough to knock it off its throne. Truly, the power disparity between the pen and the sword has never been as great or as apparent as in the modern world. Spin your globe to the Middle East for a prime example of the limitations of firepower.

Now open your Web browser and search for blogs. You get millions of hits, right? Each of those URLs represents people with opinions, people willing to broadcast their version of the world. They are concerned with their families or their search for romance; they are sharing stories about work, vacations and hobbies; they are offering their expertise on baking, tricking out cars and investing. They are keeping an eye on the government, the schools, the eco-companies and the industrial giants. Each and every one of them are working to impact their sliver of the world using the seemingly limitless power of instant communication and citizen journalism.

Case in point: Greensboro 101. Run by Roch Smith, Jr., Greensboro 101 is a blog aggregator featuring the sites of bloggers within, from or writing about Greensboro.

While Greensboro 101 certainly has its share of mainstream headline commentators and enthusiasts for any variety of hobby and art, it has also, on occasion, used the power of the Web to remind our local politicians that, though the citizens of Greensboro may be the Little Brothers to the governmental Big Brother, we are watching and we are willing to use the powerful and far-reaching tool of communication to share what we see. Notably, a few months ago, Greensboro 101 earned its citizen journalism chops by being the outlet through which an anonymous blogger posted the leaked RMA report on David Wray and the Greensboro Police Department.

Of all the enduring lessons that were celebrated during last week’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the one that is rarely spoken yet always present is that, indeed, ideas, most often expressed in words, are bulletproof. James Earl Ray was able to take Dr. King’s life but there’s not enough ammunition under the sun to puncture his ideas which continue to impact America almost 40 years later.

The sword may win the battle, but pens will always take the war.