Words have power almost beyond comprehension

In the excellent story "The Book Thief," which is also an equally wonderful movie, the point is made that words are life. Sure, why not? Words have power which is difficult to calculate. Words can cause terror or inspire hope, teach or mystify, grant wonder or steal dreams. Words build societies and tear them down. Can we really limit what words are capable of? Should we?

With all that power, it's possibly that wordsmiths are the most influential people in the world. However, life doesn't follow the same logic. Pity. I'd love to see how the world would be if the most powerful people were science fiction writers. Fun thought, isn't it? We'd finally have real hoverboards, teleporters, and flying cars!

Yes, words are useful and powerful. Becoming proficient with words is a great idea for anyone, particularly since being well-spoken is regarded as a fairly good sign of intelligence (rightfully or not, it's the way the world works). To me, though, words are the givers of wonderful stories and dreamy adventures. Because of words, we have the worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia, the universes of Star Trek and Star Wars. Philosophy wouldn't get far if there weren't people to set it all down with words that made some kind of sense.

So, for my first act as total world dictator, I decree ...

- M