The Power And Danger Of Writing...

I have heard it mentioned somewhere that writing can make you dangerous.   And Chicks Dig men who are dangerous!   And being dangerous sounds kind of cool to me...  I have always wanted to be dangerous...  in a wimpy kind of way.  (I am allergic to violence!) And if one of the side effects happens to attract the ladies....  I think I could handle that "downside."

But what kind of danger can you generate from simply applying pen to paper?   Or in my case:  Keyboard to Laptop Screen? (I will admit, "Pen to Paper" sounds more poetic.) The saying that "the pen is mightier than the sword"  comes with a little bit of context behind it.   Written words have rallied men to rebel against tyranny and oppression.   Written news articles  have ended careers of seemingly invulnerable people and politicians.  And documents written for a free people to unite behind has withstood the test of time and made countries great.  Although the sword is technically a better weapon in a fight,   it is often preceded with the pen....  Writing words...  That rile up people and populations into action.

But before I get sidetracked into some political trap,  I want to point out the actual act of writing.   Having command of your own language makes you powerful.  I have seen it during all of those years scoring papers at ACT, Pearson, College board, and ETS.  Students who had a command of writing fared better than their counterparts.  And after reading all of those essays and stories for all of those years,  I would like to think that they had made me a better writer.  

Now before some grammar Nazi points out all of my misspellings, limited vocab and overuse of  certain punctuation marks;  (Parenthesis, "quotes," and ellipsis for example...) I will have you know that I try to write with my voice being one of the key elements.   And to do that,  I sometimes have to take "liberties" with bold type, italics, and often rarely used punctuation marks.  It's my quirk. 

The main reason I am writing this little blog post that no one will likely read is because I believe that the divide between people with writing skills and those who have little or none is growing.   At one time,  everyone had a working knowledge  and ability to write down ideas.   Sure,  there were those who wrote better than others.   And those who made it their job to write and wrote for their job. Everyone agrees that the ability to read is important in our advanced society.  But what about our ability to write?  

Writing forces you to think.   You have to carefully construct your thoughts to prevent ramblings and digressions.  It sharpens your language skills and helps you improve with each word you jot down.   And thinking people are dangerous!  Because when you think,  you are less likely to fall for those "emotional pleas" that lead you off a train of thought.  To keep your focus,  you have to have a clear path in your head that has been paved for others to follow.  

So how does one become a better writer?   First off,  I think you have to understand that writing is not something you are born with.   It is a gift!  A gift from someone who has come before you.  ( Similar to History!)  A gift from your teacher or parent who has lovingly sat you down...  often against your will, and showed you how to form words with letters.  And sentences from words.  And thoughts from sentences!  A gift that one generation gives to the next.  Showing that intelligence and wisdom is something that is built up through the ages and handed down instead of something that you are born with. Everyone who learns to read and write should be grateful!

Having been handed this gift, you now have to develop it.  To do this, you have to become skilled enough to become dangerous.  How do you develop this skill?  With practice!  Why else would the teachers make you write all of those essays and reports?   Why do you have to write those letters home to your parents?   You think the teachers like reading your sloppy prose?   ( Well, actually...  sometimes they do!)  I'm sure they would rather be watching the ball game on the weekend rather than reading a bunch of disorganized papers that are poorly punctuated and littered with misspellings.  But that is what you must do to become dangerous.   You must develop that skill until you can create and idea clearly and then write it in a way where others can understand exactly what you are trying to say. 

After that....  You develop a "Talent." for writing.   Unlike the skill part,  you now rely on your own methods to get your point across.   This is where you develop your "voice."   That special writing style that sets you apart from others.    Injecting comedic elements, or satire, or lavishly constructed sentences with flowery vocabulary are some of the methods.  This is where you discover that balancing act that keeps your reader reading instead of dropping out of the engagement altogether.   Clear thoughts and facts are boring without a little color.   Yet,  too many complex words or sentence structures might make your writing too rich to consume all at once.  And the only way to do this is to continue to write. 

So....  What's the big deal?  Why do I care?   For years I have noticed that there seems to be a widening chasm between people in our society. I once went into the education field with the idea that Education could solve just about anything.   People make bad choices because they simply are not educated on the consequences of their actions. Not the best theory, I know now...  But I was young and filled with optimism.   I later changed my mind and believed education WAS the problem.   Kids are learning the wrong things at school that are making them weaker instead of stronger.   Or they are simply not learning anything at all...   Making them just as weak as people who have no skill. 

Our society now has been tossed into a world where texting, slang, acronyms, and emoji's pass for meaningful conversation and thought.  Many comments on message boards are more "Streams of Consciousnesses." rather than organized and focused points.  Those folks who can write well end up writing books and manuals to help people with problems.  But those who can not write are viewed as "stupid" or insignificant.  They may be skilled in other fields.   Skills that matter!  But without the skill to pass down that knowledge, they are a dead end.   Who would want that for a society...?

Being a teacher was never my first choice of career.   But I was somehow talked into taking that career path and going to college for it.   Somewhere along the way, I  began to think I might actually like it.   But life tossed me a curve ball and I was forced to change directions.  Perhaps to allow me to come full circle and realize...  For myself this time,  that there is a need for teachers to teach kids the value of writing.   And how to develop their skills with meaning and purpose.  And WHY those kids have to learn these skills and why they are important.  To become dangerous....

Like a porcupine, a dangerous citizenry keeps predators away.   And only those foolish enough to mess with a peaceful but dangerous animal gets the quills in the face and paws!  Porcupines do not travel in herds.   They do not follow a leader.   They do what they want... because they fear very little.  And they are able to meet danger with danger because they are fully capable of taking care of themselves. 

I once thought that Math was the golden chalice for education.   I studied advanced math courses because I loved the logic and purity of it all.    But now that I'm older,  I realize that language...  And specifically,  writing... is far more important.   Without it,  Math would have to be re-discovered generation after generation.   Without writing,  failures of the past can not be told to our future citizens...  To keep them from making the same or similar mistakes.   

The only question now is what am I to do about it?   Do I jump back into the fight as a 50+ year old man? I would be starting all the way back from level zero.  Will it be worth the cost and sacrifice at this point in my life?   Will I even make a difference?   

Or should I leave this for the next generation...   Possibly passing on my thoughts and observations  through nothing more than my writings on this blog.  It certainly would be easier.  I could sit out the remainder of my days working at a warehouse, building a pension and retirement plan while having medical insurance.  Paying off debts and working hard to become a law-abiding, hard-working cog in the machine of this society.  It does not sound as  fun when I put it that way... But I have already lived the "fun" life, and that was a rocky path to take. 

Call it wisdom,  call it fear..  Whatever is holding me back,  I should try to understand it and make up my mind.   Because time is running out.   And every second counts.