Focused Freewrite 9/12

John Trimble compares writers to warriors. I suppose that makes a lot of sense, although i think that's only because the phrase, "the pen is mightier than the sword" is ringing in my head. Words are pretty darn powerful. I mean, look at the effect of putting something into writing has on people. The Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and even the Magna Carta are all great examples of this. By simply confirming something in writing, it gives a whole new power to a person because their word thus becomes "set in stone", so to speak.

Civilizations of the past who had their own writing systems are claimed to be the most advanced (RE: the Greeks, the Arabs, the Maya, and the Egyptians). By recording their history in the written word, they were able to preserve their culture and, therefore, defend it against the bludgeons of time and war. As an anthropologist-to-be, I marvel at the power of words because of this. Haha, it also reminds me of that creative writing "boast" I had to write for English class last year.

"The pen is my sword,

Paper my shield.

I am a shield maiden of the written language,

Infecting those around me with new sight and dreams of fantasy."

- excerpt from "Senior Boast", inspired by Beowulf.