One of the most powerful forces a human can bring to bear upon another human is words.
Words have the ability to uplift, encourage, to be constructive and to impart immense energy from one to another. They can help others and heal them, empower people to greatness or simply to rise from the low ebb in which they have found themselves. Words can bring happiness, joy and meaning and it doesn't even take many words to do so. "I love you," three words spoken truly and with emotion have the power to irreparably change lives...three words.
But words can hurt, can do terrible damage emotionally and mentally. Words can be destructive and can tear and rend the very fabric of what makes a healthy society. They can hinder, humble and humiliate and it doesn't take many words to do that, just a few and the damage is done damage that could last forever.
I fear for communication in this modern world where we're digitally connected but emotionally disconnected.
I fear that communication is simply a word and an illusion now because it doesn't happen as effectively as it should or as it needs to. People speak because they can rather than because they have something valid to say; people offer vapid, unintelligent words under the deluded belief that those words have great import and others absorb them without thought, the media feeding us their propaganda is one example. Communication is ineffective and getting worse...but it doesn't have to.
With a few carefully chosen words together with some thought prior to uttering them, a person can pull themselves back, but a person needs to want to do it and has to do it day in and day out.
I think it's worth the effort.