THE POWER OF WORDS
I had planned on writing from DC, but instead played the dutiful role of tourist, complete with bad photos and swollen, sore feet. I had to do it—Washington is so rich in history, that you just have to go see the monuments and the little white house on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
While in Washington DC, I also had the opportunity to visit the National Holocaust Museum. Although it was a rather disturbing exhibit, I am thankful for the experience and highly recommend it to anyone visiting DC.
Walking through the three-story exhibit, a single recurring thought ran through my mind: Words have Power.
There were a couple of brief film documentaries and actual footage of news broadcasts of the time that played repeatedly as one strolled through the exhibits. In the news broadcasts, a young, confident Hitler could be seen addressing the masses. He was clearly a skilled public speaker. Newspaper headlines from across the globe, chronicled the abhorrent events as they unfolded before the disbelieving eyes of average citizens. I saw an old Continental typewriter used by Pastor Martin Niemoller who initially supported the Nazi regime, but later spoke out against Adolf Hitler. He used that typewriter to write and publish anti-Nazi communication in a public campaign against Hitler until he was arrested in 1937. All are evidence of the power of words.
In a relatively short span of time, what was at first, nothing more than Nazi propaganda, was allowed to grow into a national campaign of terror that resulted in Hitler’s attempt to annihilate an entire group of people.
I say allowed to grow, because Hitler’s Nazi propaganda was poorly received in the beginning. The vast majority of Germans saw it as nothing more than an extremist view of the few. Hitler initially had few followers but he had one thing in his favor—fear.
Just as American citizens were suffering from the financial devastation of the Great Depression that was triggered by the collapse of the stock market; so too, were the Germans. In fact, many nations struggled with joblessness and extremes of poverty. Like our ancestors, the German people stood in soup kitchen lines and watched as their children and elderly died of starvation. The people of Germany were hungry. Hungry for hope. Hungry for leadership that could restore the Germany they had come to know and to love. The Great Depression afforded Hitler the political platform that he needed to aggressively pursue his agenda.
A sequence of political events would later unfold that would place Hitler in the position to lead the nation. I am certainly no historian, but here is a brief overview of a few of the key events.
Hitler ran against President Hindenburg twice but was unsuccessful on both attempts. Later, a couple of influential politicians and several wealthy industrialists and businessmen urged President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor. This leadership position would be independent of the parliamentary parties and thought to be well received by the German people. Hitler was a charismatic leader with superb oratory skill. He gained many political allies while in serving as Chancellor. Shortly afterwards in 1934, President Hindenburg died and Hitler became the head of state; thus gaining full control of the legislative and executive branches of the government. Hitler and his political allies wasted no time in suppressing the remaining political opposition and his reign of terror was unleashed.
As I toured the exhibit, I could not help but to think that there had to have been many good Germans who detested the actions of their leader. Surely they had to have questioned his sanity as he attempted to systematically annihilate millions of Jewish people.
Was their leader was a sociopath, incapable of discerning right from wrong? Or was he calculated and deliberative; fully aware of the power held within mere words when targeted at people who were thirsting for change? Is it possible that the citizens of Germany were unwilling participants who stood back in fear of their leader, fully regretting they had chosen to first believe in his message of hope for the return of a strong Germany?
Was their leader was a sociopath, incapable of discerning right from wrong? Or was he calculated and deliberative; fully aware of the power held within mere words when targeted at people who were thirsting for change? Is it possible that the citizens of Germany were unwilling participants who stood back in fear of their leader, fully regretting they had chosen to first believe in his message of hope for the return of a strong Germany?
Hitler knew about the power of words and of knowledge. He ordered the confiscation and burning of books authored by Jews and by anyone opposing the Nazi regime. Among these were books by Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein. Jewish children were dismissed from schools, prohibited from learning. He bombarded the German people with political propaganda which capitalized upon the rampant anti-semitism of the time, and included messages alleging the Jewish people as the cause of the poverty and suffering experienced in Germany at the time. Yes, Hitler knew about the power of words.
Words are powerful. Especially when spoken with confidence by a charismatic leader, repeated multiple times and aimed at a group of people who are suffering and wanting of meaningful change. Think about our own willingness to consider the political promises of our leaders today. We are bombarded with the well-chosen speeches and sound bites from politicians running for office ithis election year; in addition to those who use them to further their own personal agendas. Aren’t our politicians trying to capitalize on the effects of the 2008 recession and the country’s slow return to financial stability? In fact, haven’t we seen fear tactics used as a means to instill a sense of urgency? Should we even try to return to the self-centered, free-for-all level of capitalism that resulted in our recession? Their manipulation is deliberative. They know the value of saying key words at key times, and repeating those words over and over again. They believe that if YOU hear their messages enough, YOU will begin to believe what they are saying. Further, it becomes increasingly hard to distinguish facts from opinion because the media is also complicit in their attempts to manipulate us with carefully crafted messaging.
My advice, take care to use good critical thinking when considering the messages you might hear this election year. Question the source and the messenger. What is their motive or objective? Are they reasonably able to deliver upon what they are telling you? Whose agenda are they promoting? Who will really stand to benefit from what they hope to accomplish. You? —Not likely. And remember to consider the greater good. Nothing good will come when we refuse to acknowledge the needs of the many vs. the wants of the few.
Words have power. They have the power to build up or to destroy.
There are no more powerful words than those spoken by a parent to a child. Those words create the mental scripts that will either instill self-confidence in children or serve as barriers to their success. Remember, people tend to believe what is said to them when said repeatedly, and at emotionally charged times that they likely not forget. So choose your words wisely, because words are capable of having long lasting, perhaps even permanent effects. Choose words that help to build a person up. Words that give them hope for their future and confidence in their own abilities to achieve the goals that they desire. For there is power in mere words—history has proven this time and time again.
One needs only to walk through a wooden railcar that was used to transport Jews to Auschwitz, see the piles of thousands of soot covered shoes, bags filled with human hair or to look upon a rusted gas chamber door through which millions entered to their deaths—to realize the power of words.
Please pay your respects and visit the National Holocaust Museum should you ever get the opportunity to do so.
Next post will be back to the business of writing….I promise.
Rita Aguilar 