Word Power

The power of word and language has been with humans for about 100,000 years, and it has facilitated some remarkable achievements for mankind. Before this period, the hominid’s vocal tract wasn’t developed enough to produce the range of speech sounds that people can today. This is not to say that language did not appear at all before 100,000 years ago. In reality, the combination of physical changes and an increased complexity of communication from the early humans created language in a series of stages.
The more fascinating aspect is how language has progressed over the thousands of years and how it has come to control and dominate society. However, it controls society in both positive and negative ways. For example, speeches are the best example for how word has true power over people. Two names clearly explain the matter: Martin Luther King Jr. and Adolf Hitler.
     King was famous for his civil rights movement, and the single most important element in his movement was peace. He did not believe in violence, and instead of promoting violence, he advocated for peaceful protest in his speeches, the most famous being I Have a Dream. His words called people to action, they called for a realization that something needed to be done about equality in America.
King would represent the bright side of the word’s impact on society. Sadly, there is a dark side, Hitler being the example. Known for his emotional, powerful, and nationalistic speeches, he used the power of his language to influence the masses of Germany into a fever that led to World War II. One terrifying account by Alfons Heck explains how Hitler took control of people while giving his speech: “We erupted into a frenzy of nationalistic pride that bordered on hysteria. For minutes on end, we shouted at the top of our lungs, with tears streaming down our faces: Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil! From that moment on, I belonged to Adolf Hitler body and soul.”
The power of word and language is many-sided. It can be used with the purpose of evil, but also with the purpose of love and kindness. Speech can rally people up in a wild frenzy, or it can assemble them peacefully to a state of realization.  Having power isn’t all about strength. Having power means having the ability to control language and influence the surrounding people.