Words

I’m a wordsmith. I love words. I love new words and old words. I love learning where they came from, information that isn’t in most dictionaries anymore. I love putting words together, growing sentences and paragraphs into a whole. I love looking at the puzzle of other peoples’ words, shifting the pieces around, shaping them into someone else’s whole, in that person’s voice rather than my own.

Words matter even more when you are speaking them in someone else’s name.  You may be putting them together on the spot, and you must do so in a way that communicates the message without leaving room for misinterpretation. What does the audience think they already know about the topic? What feelings impede their hearing? How can I cut through those thoughts and emotions with the message I bring in another’s name?

It’s an awe-some responsibility. I’m responsible to the one I’m speaking for, responsible to communicate that message without editorializing. I am also responsible to myself: I must never let my skill with words run away with my integrity. Even though the message is not my own, I must ask myself: “Do I believe this?”

There are people speaking and writing today who are also skilled with words. They know how to use language to elicit strong emotions, emotions spilling out onto the Internet and onto the street.

What kind of action is following from these words and emotions? This is not a question of “right” or “left,” “liberal” or “conservative. It’s a question of responsibility. We all must choose our words carefully. We are responsible to ourselves, to believe what we say. And we are responsible for the actions that result.

(Photo courtesy of Antonio Darius Sollers.)