Words of Wisdom
While watching the news the other day, it dawned to me that people with "words to live by" frequently assault and even murder others. I remembered my own enraged childhood, when I could easily use words to excuse violent impulses that may have turned into violent acts. Even though words are tools, they appear to be more dangerous than gunpowder.
Consider two men who are facing each other and pointing past each other. One is pointing to an approaching tornado, while the other is pointing to a roaring fire that is heading straight for them. Each sees their own truth and gets enraged when the other's hand is seen. Each considers the other's hand to be "wrong." Replace the storm and fire with any modern issues, and the hands with words, and you have a scene that depicts how we frequently try to communicate.
We argue as if we are looking at the same facts and experiences, pointing past each other with our words. Instead of learning to look at what the other's words are pointing at, we seek to prove that our words are correct. Words are alluring, and for all of their undeniable use, they can also take us away from understanding when we fixate on them, when we elevate them above the truth they are supposed to point to.
There are no words that can be used to describe how I feel.
It's not simply about interacting with others. We become engrossed in a web of words that we use to explain the world to ourselves, and we become stuck in it. For example, we label things "right" or "wrong" based on how they compare to our "definitions." Word formulas and definitions, unlike mathematics, can never be as precise. They are unable to embrace the entirety of reality. For example, with the smallest amount of effort, you may create a situation in which "stealing" is acceptable and "helping" is not.
This isn't meant to be a criticism of language or reasoning. It's just that neither of them goes very far. They are useful, just like a car that carries you across the county or around the world, but they are only useful in particular ways, and you must exit them when you arrive at your various destinations. Getting a car to the lake isn't an issue; getting a car into the lake is. When our words and logic lead us into risky circumstances, we do this.
Can having words to live by, on the other hand, be dangerous? Absolutely. I once overheard a sympathetic individual remark that he was opposed to animal cruelty legislation because he couldn't come up with a rational and convincing set of words to justify them. Would he refuse to believe in the existence of a new machine until he could explain and describe it? Reality, as well as the reality of good and evil, exist outside of words - they are not words in and of themselves.
On the evening news, I saw a man remark that we have the right and should unleash a nuclear weapon on Iraq. As he explained why, it was clear that whatever humane instincts he had were trumped by his complete devotion to his words, reasoning, and the conclusions they lead to. He never considered that there might be truth outside of his words and logic.
It's great to have rules, such as "don't lie" or "we have the right to self-defense." It's even better to keep in mind that these rules will fail us at some point and we'll have to develop new ones. Words are merely instruments. There are certain words to live by, but none to die by.