“The pen is mightier than the sword”; a ubiquitous proverb of our people that encapsulates the colossal power of language in just one little sentence. This saying has been recorded from the beginning of our history and has remained untouched since then, proving the timeless validity of speech over the years. A myriad of people across the world have utilized speech from time to time, whether in written or spoken form. Aware of its potential, they have abused its mechanisms either in an attempt to elevate the human spirit and amend the fabrics of society or to manipulate the masses with the intent of satisfying their mercenary needs and establishing authoritarian regimes. But where do the limits of speech truly lie?
Speech has no limits. As absolute as this standpoint may seem, it is something that is evidently proven in a number of ways in our everyday lives. A single word may provoke unusual, unprecedented and unique feelings or it may transform into a sharp “knife” with the purpose of brutally and heinously wounding its recipient. We’ve all been confronted with words that hurt us in a profoundly painful way as much as we’ve been met with phrases that gave us the most joyous feelings. Therefore speech, the written and spoken word, has the ability to “break bones,” to awaken the consciousness and offer enlightenment, to denounce evil and tear unjustness into pieces, to praise truth and glorify fairness, to stir emotions and bring intellectual and societal treasures to light, to move.
However these things require education, humanity and sincerity, the absence of which otherwise turns speech into a mechanism with effects of leverage and averseness. This so-called “language of authority” is a distinctive feature possessed by every kind of authority, and especially by any authoritarian regime. It is speech in its distorted form, founded on groundless observations and fictitious events that covet the deterioration of individual agency and, ultimately, a complete “brainwash” that ensures one’s resolute dependence. Thus, this type of language aims to undermine the democratic institutions, mislead the masses and tarnish human decency.
So how do you protest this sovereign power, which, on top of everything else, wields the most powerful weapon, language? Of course, with language itself! Only language can truly restrict and quell the chaos of modern social reality. Only language can shake the very foundations of any kind of depreciation, animosity, hatred, propaganda and authority, always on the basis of education. Education can distance a person from a poor and vacant speech by leading them closer to the truth and elevating their spirit into the sphere of freedom. It shields them with critical thinking whilst instilling them with universal conscience. Ergo the free spirit, from which stems a speech full of virtuous qualities, can turn injustice into rightfulness, violence into placid cooperation and hatred into love.
At a time where numerous dangers amass in the horizon and threaten your moral, individual and social standing, your speech is your strongest “weapon” in your protest against anyone’s effort to manipulate and undermine you. By harnessing the unbounded power of speech you have the ability to raise awareness, shape ideas and opinions, ignite socio-political events, and even change the world! Use it, use your voice, DON’T silence it!
Photography by Grigoris Lazaridis, Simeon Maniatis