Thursday February 20, 2020 ~ LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor, West Shore Voice News
As modern Canadian society continues to explore itself in response to various crises and disasters in recent years, there has been a growing debate over the best way to express one’s support or condolences in such times.
One view is that ‘words are not enough’ to support a grieving process. Indeed, it is important to have the physical surrounding of family or community in difficult times. Maybe it’s more so the trendy ‘thoughts and prayers’ phrase that people object to, as if that’s too easy and is not necessarily accompanied by real conviction.
But the power of words — how they are phrased and when they are delivered — is something never to be underestimated. Not to get too biblical for some readers, but for billions of people on this planet everything started with ‘the Word’ (an idea that speaks reality into existence). Words have inspired people to love, to hate, to join, to fight, to endure, to create new societies, and to pursue peace. Words convey our stories, build our cultures, and record our histories.
Words as the building blocks of language are the tools by which humanity may stand apart from our baser instincts. Words well crafted are of course what underlie the adage ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ (meaning that discussion and discourse is preferred and more successful than violence). A few well-chosen and well-spoken words can heal a person, a community or a nation, sometimes in a sweeping instant or over time by way of the reverberation of their intent.
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This editorial was first published on page 2 in the February 14 to 16, 2020 weekend digest edition of West Shore Voice News
Reader Comment: I’ve just read your short article ‘Words are not enough?’ and I wanted to express my admiration and appreciation. Very well written. Succinct. It really hits the spot especially in the times that we’re in. So, well done! Thank you and keep up the good work. ~ Joanne Layton (February 20, 2020)
Read our followup to this editorial in our LinkedIn post on February 20, 2020
Women in journalism: Remembering Christie Blatchford and Anne Kingston (February 14, 2020 | West Shore Voice News)