In Other Words

Dear Readers,

I am a lover of words. I admire words that uplift and inspire. We are a nation and world that is built on words, in the beginning God said, “let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). During the time of our Forefathers they drafted some of the most eloquent writing that since has never been duplicated. The Declaration of Independence begins with, “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political and band which connected with another” as you continue to read this document observe the words that are well throughout and placed to emphasize the importance of the message. The Constitution of the United States, declares, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility” …… the harmony in these words draw attention to the cause of promoting justice and fair thinking. One of my favorite speeches, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address delivered during an unstable period of our history, “Four score and seven years ago” these words are almost biblical in tone and phrasing. We have great literature that represents the best of thinkers of diverse generations and historical time periods like, the Victorian, Romantic, Renaissance, Enlightenment period, and literature from gothic writers, I studied a course called the Bible as Literature. There are masterpieces that stand long after the authors have met their demise. Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, The Bronte’s, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, George Eliot, James Baldwin just to name a few of the great masters. The words that was inspirational in aiding me to change my Major from ECE to English Literature, during my second year of college my professor read, William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun…. while he recited these words, I felt the emotional journey that the speaker of poem wanted to convey. They were words of love and adoration. It was then that I learned that words have the power to change and persuade

That was then this is now……………

The word choice of this and past generations degrade, humiliate, and cast a negative light on a terms that are created by speaking negative affirmation in a world that was fashioned with the joys of life and light. The words choice of today’s seemly hip, cool, smart and arrogant young people is the N word/Nigger or Nigah as this generation enunciate this term. There is much debate about who should or should not use the N word, and it seems to be ok for people of color to use this word. I detest blacks and Latina people who use the N word as a term of endearment. Who are they kidding? What they are doing is dishonoring the generations before them who suffered great mental and physical trauma to stand firm against people who wanted to debase them with derogatory terms.  Bitch, or Bitcha a word used among rap singers to refer to women, they have glorified this term. Following in their footsteps of the rappers, are women on Reality TV, besides their tasteless and trashy style of dressing, their verbal abuse of each other is vulgar, what you hear during an hour long senseless show is “bitch this and bitch that. My last word choice is boy.  The word boy is another offensive term used during the slavery towards black men to make them feel that they don’t deserve to be called a man due to their skin color. It was a racist term meant to insult. I am ashamed that the baby boomers and the generations before them failed to stand up to the young people of this generation to correct and educate them that words are not just empty terms and phrases. Words have power and they have an enormous impact on our thinking and emotional well-being. In the words of the late great Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is what word can do. How are you using your words?

 

What say you?

Dragthepen.