When has the written word sparked change?

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   Emanate Presenceposted 11 years ago

   When has the written word sparked change?
   
   What are some examples of writing that has raised awareness in a way that brought social change?
   
   This can be an historical event, or an example from your experience. Even if the change is seen in the actions of a few people or a community, it is social change.
   
   To give more choices to respond, how do you feel as a writer about the statement, "The pen is mightier than the sword?" Any examples?
   
   A new hub as an answer would be awesome.

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   rlahaposted 11 years ago

   Hi. That is a great question. I am in a Masters of Education program and for my Public Health Nutrition class, we were recently asked to read the book "Nickel and Dimed; On Not Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. It talks about how hard it is to get by on minimum or low wage jobs. I think it is a fast read and it is very interesting. The author is the one who went from Florida to Maine to Minnesota to compare if there was any difference.

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      Emanate Presenceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your response. Has the book brought new awareness that has sparked social change?

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      rlahaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Emanate Presence.
        Yes. It has made people more aware of the fact that low wage workers either need to have some kind of benefits like SNAP (food stamps) or if they have children, then WIC.

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3. 68

   Emanate Presenceposted 11 years ago

   When is the pen mightier than the sword?  When a hard-hitting editorial pricks men's consciences? Social change can also happen through raised awareness whenever one is sparked to write. read more

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   rfmoranposted 11 years ago

   Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is probably the most significant book in history for its impact on society. It raised people's awareness of the horrors of the institution of slavery, gave rise to the abolitionist movement and probably to the Civil War as well. Good question.

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   Laura Schneiderposted 11 years ago

   There are so many! The pen is completely mightier than the sword on an historical scale and usually on an everyday scale. Everything from the Declaration of Independence to the U.S. Constitution to the Louisiana Purchase (add 1,000,000 USA examples here), the documents President Obama signed just recently confirming him in his second role in the presidency, and the documents from which he read his state of the union address. Birth certificates and death certificates for each individual; everyone's home deeds and car titles, the driver's license, the green card, the passport (opening our minds to other cultures). Degrees, diplomas, and certificates validating someone's book-knowledge, and the resume summarizing it for future employment. The gold record that we send with space exploration probes so that anyone finding our probe will know about us. The scripts of a different nature upon which Mozart and Beethoven (and thousands of other composers) wrote their masterpieces for formal/royal occasions during which important treaties were likely signed (even if the treaty was a marriage license). The phenomena that IKEA documents are horrible yet we still buy their stuff and somehow assemble it. My examples may seem pedantic at first, but look: the birth certificate of George Washington forever in our minds locks a nametag on a select individual who did great things. And I would be totally remiss if I didn't mention all of the tomes upon which religions worldwide have been based (I won't list them to avoid offense by inadvertantly omitting one). Modern currency also contains text that assigns value to the pieces of paper. Articles of Incorporation, patents, copyrights. Prescriptions, grocery lists, recipes.
   
   Virtually everything written that is read by someone makes a difference in some way, great or small, and the sums of those great and small things form raised awareness and social change. For example, the recipe for making hydraulic cement was lost during the great fire in the Alexandria library, and it was another (millenia to 1500 years?) before someone again figured out how to make it from scratch. Think of how many important and stately occasions were graced and celebrated with the "Ode to Joy", how many brides' and grooms' blood ran a little faster upon hearing "Here comes the bride".
   
   Of course, written text can also be used for horrible purposes, such as tearing apart nations, breaking agreements, starting wars, bullying, teasing, hating, et al.

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   manatita44posted 11 years ago

   A lot there. First, change is constanlty taking place in the lives of men and women daily. I would say that the writings of Gandhi and Martin Luther King has brought about a lot of social change. Mandela and Gorbachev  included here. They both wrote very inspirational books and gave great teachings. In Mandela's case, it is well documented how western countries were mobilised in support, while he was in prison. This is social change. Some say that Luther's social change enhanced Obama's chance to be in the White House. Luther the presbytarian too, whether or not we liked his views.
   Love is the greatest force and the sword, viewed from a certain standpoint, is its opposite. Jefferson's declaration of Independence and the laws of Liberty, Equality, etc, have been extremely influential in the modern world. In that sense, the pen has also proved useful, particularly in its use for producing great parchments which are followed even today and from which many of us benefit.

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      Emanate Presenceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Excellent contribution to the discussion, Manatita. Another angle on this would be to ask, what is constant and what is change.

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      manatita44posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, but asked a few times and answered a few times. The constant is probably God in Silence and the change is God in motion or Sound or Creation, if you like.

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      Emanate Presenceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, I like that!

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