Two sides to every story

Of course, just about every argument has a rebuttal of some sort. I have been reading through the book Unspeak by Steven Poole. Steven argues the negative uses of words and phrases used by people in power and the media. However, others like to argue the positive uses of persuasive language. I read a journal entry, called “Leaders Understand the Power of Words” by Robert E. Millward, who talks about how leaders understand the power of language. Key figures in history like Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln used powerful, emotive and passionate language in their speeches to move audiences. He argues that it is not the words alone, however, that make people rally behind them, but it is also action. You can say things, but if you don’t follow it up with action then you lose your credibility.

It occured to me after reading this journal that i had never actually heard the Martin Luther King speech in its entirety, so i looked it up on youtube. It really shows just how powerful and moving a carefully constructed speech can be. And while i agree with Steven Poole’s opinion that language can be a nasty, evil, manipulating thing, i believe that it basically comes down to the person using the language. Peoples agendas are ultimately the deciding factor as to whether language is good or evil.