Freedom of Writing:


Freedom of Writing:

Since this past week was Independence Day in the USA I thought I would talk about the freedom that writing can bring. Writing is a great way to face fears, sort out the chaotic thoughts in your head, learn, connect with others and make a difference. Why? Because words have power!
Recently I was at a women's retreat and the speaker my friend Jamie Thursday from Urban Light Boston, (Look for her on FB!), was talking about how, “back in the day” meaning a long time ago, during tribal society times, certain words had different meanings than they do today. When those in power, (the patriarchy) decided they wanted to switch the roles of power and force some people to the bottom, (women), they did so by creating fear and disgust around certain words. For example, the word virgin, it used to mean, a woman who was unto her own power. It had absolutely nothing to do with relationships and it showed who in the tribe were really powerful women. The meaning was changed to try to control and track who women had relations with. It also made women feel and look weak. There are many more examples of this, but the priests/other men in power, simply talking about this change would not have had any effect if they had not written it down. It could have easily been interpreted incorrectly or forgotten, but writing solidifies words. Even Confucius in the fifth century BCE, knew that people in power were changing the meanings of words and he feared what this would do to society, “When names are not correct, what is said will not sound reasonable; when what is said does not sound reasonable, affairs will not culminate in success.” (From The Written World, by: Martin Puchner). Jamie's site, (Jhayhurst722@wixsite.com),(Pic below, awesome Jamie). 
Think about the game telephone, one person at the head of a line says a sentence, the sentence gets whispered to multiple people down a line, the last person in line says what they heard and it is usually different than what the original person had said, then everyone laughs. But what is really going on there? And what would have happened if the sentence was written down and passed down the line? What is happening is that there are different areas of the brain that are being used when people are interpreting language vs when they are speaking or writing. The Parietal lobe is used for interpreting language and words, the Frontal lobe is used for speaking and writing. Is this why the words change? I can't tell you for sure, I am not a scientist but I would venture to guess there is a mix-up with the interpreting of the words.

This makes me think about oral traditions of story telling. Before writing was used for writing stories it was used for keeping track of transactions, planning warfare strategies, and writing steps for divination or other spiritual practices. Many believe that Homer was the first to write down a story when he wrote the Iliad but I am reading a fantastic book right now called The Written World by: Martin Puchner and according to Puchner the oldest story that has been found was written on a clay tablet in 2100 B.C.E. Called First Tales of Gilgamesh it was written in Cuneiform Writing in what is now Iraq. It was found in 1845 by an Englishman named Austen Henry Layard deep in the Earth. What happened before this time when people told stories orally? Did the stories change over time or were people's brains less stimulated by other things back then and were they able to absorb the words and repeat them back without change? The Druids never seemed to write down their practices or stories or beliefs even using symbols. Perhaps they felt that these stories would change or perhaps they did not want others to know about their culture. In the old days, many cultures told their myths and folktales through song. Special singers called Bards were trained to learn and remember all of these stories and lore and travel around the lands singing them to the common people. But when people discovered that writing these tales down could allow them to be re-read over and over they likely saw the positive and power in this.

It is not surprising that powerful words were then used in all kinds of religious texts. It is also not surprising that when people in power wanted to show that their words or the words they believed were the ONLY ones that should be believed that they sought to destroy anything that showed otherwise. There used to be a great library in Alexandria that was purposefully burned. The library that had housed the First Tales of Gilgamesh was burned, (luckily this clay tablet survived). The Nazi's were famous for burning books written by Jewish authors. The Romans were known for doing this, even the Vikings destroyed religious texts and other religious items when they ransacked monasteries. If any of you have heard of “bloody Mary” queen Mary I of England. She was King Henry the VIII's daughter. She was a devout Roman Catholic and during her reign she sought out Protestant's and Pagan's and executed hundreds of them, she also made a practice of burning their books and writings having to do with their faiths. These kinds of acts are not subject to one group of people, they have happened many times in history by many different groups that fear the power of words.

In modern days there are occasionally burnings by radical people but more than that there are still ways that people try to censor writers. Online now if someone writes something that someone else disagrees with, you will often see that person being attacked by others stating that the person is wrong and trying to prove that. These public confrontations are forcing readers to question the author's credibility. This happens with reviews as well. And there are still times when books are banned in certain areas. Harry Potter is banned in some schools and libraries in the south because of its connection to witches and magic. Why is it that people fear word's power so much that they feel that they need to destroy them? I think the answer to this is that words do have power. They stay solidified for a long time. They can change people's opinions or beliefs or make them act a certain way. They can even shape entire societies ways of living. So the authors of words need to be wary. Words are powerful and if you are going to wield them, you are free to do so in this society, but need to do so cautiously. Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.” Albus Dumbledore. Until next time friends, remember, writing = happiness ;).


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