It never ceases to amaze me how people can be controlled by words. Words of hate, threatening words, words of love. They’re just sounds we hear or characters we see. They’re nothing more than we let them be.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Well, we all know that can be untrue. Children can grow strong and healthy when fed a diet of nice words, and they can grow weak and sick on a diet of harsh words. Words can hit harder than fists when thrown in anger between people who love each other. Words can heal wounds and stop wars.

Markus Zusak illustrated the dichotomy between the power of words and the emptiness of them more beautifully in The Book Thief than I ever could here. So, I’ll stop that whimsy and get to the words I want to talk about.

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