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GREAT AMERICAN THINK-OFF FINAL FOUR ESSAYS FOR 2002

The Sword is Mightier

Paul Higday - Think-Off Champion 2002

My father is a world-class fencer who has spent years with a saber in his hand, saluting opponents and parrying thrusts. But four years ago he hit a wall. He felt tired all the time and was unable to recover his strength after bouts. Searching for an answer, he suffered through weeks of tests. In the end, his doctors discovered he had hairy cell leukemia. At the time, we had no idea what hairy cell leukemia was or whether there were drugs that could force it into remission. So, like many people in this information age, my family took to the Internet to research the problem. In less than 4 hours, we learned that it is rare. We learned that it can be fatal. And we learned that it was treatable. Most importantly, we learned that you don't fight leukemia with research and illegible prescriptions scribbled by your doctor. You fight leukemia with swords, swords in the form of needles and chemotherapy. The sword is mightier than the pen. For millennia, countries have used swords to set national boundaries and individuals have used swords to free themselves of oppression. But the true strength of the sword lies in the action that it represents. Only through action can we make changes to our world. Opponents of this view may argue that the pen and the knowledge it can disseminate can touch thousands of people, while a sword can only touch one at a time. They're only partially correct. Certainly an expertly wielded pen can expose the most pressing social problems. But ink alone cannot solve those problems. For proof, we need look no farther than the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. Following the assassination of Rwandan President Habyalimana in April 1994, members of his ethnic Hutu faction took to the streets wielding machetes, clubs and guns. Civilians identified as ethnic Tutsi were killed on sight. Within days, hundreds of bodies were seen floating down the Kigara River into Lake Victoria. In retaliation, the U.N. Security Council penned a resolution designed to expose the problem to the world. The world's response was "it's not our problem." Days later, all 2,500 U.N. peacekeepers were pulled from Rwanda. Free of opposition, the Hutu extremists went on a killing spree unseen since Nazi Germany. After 2 more U.N. resolutions and 800,000 murders the killings came to an end when armed Tutsi rebels attacked and defeated the Hutu extremists in June 1994. 800,000 Tutsi were killed on Hutu swords because U.N. chose to pick up its pen and abdicate responsibility. Why is it that we think that real problems can be solved with the scratch of a pen and a stamp of approval? Certainly the deluge of statistics tying education to reductions in poverty and crime has something to do with it. The belief that the "Information Age" is sparking the next renaissance isn't helping either. Yet the proponents of the pen often forget to ask themselves the simple questions. For example, does passing a law forbidding murder stop murders from being committed? Even the most diehard supporter of the pen must admit that a law is useless unless it is enforced. For proof, remember the failure of our laws to prevent the tragedy of September 11th. Perhaps it is best to think of the pen as the sharpening stone for our swords. With knowledge we are able to hone our sword to a razor edge so that our actions cut to the heart of our problems cleanly and effectively. Take the philosophy currently followed by our Federal Reserve. Instead of publishing volumes of data on economic problems, they use tools like interest rate reductions to cut through the Gordian Knot that our modern economies have become. As a result, they have lessened economic recessions, increased economic gains and improved lives. But most importantly, they have shown us that the best government is one of action, not of reflection. They have shown us that a sharp, expertly wielded sword can help millions. In the end, perhaps my father's experience provides the clearest proof. The cure to his leukemia came not from the Internet, but from a finely sharpened 26 gauge needle containing a miraculous drug. It was a painful process, one that no amount of knowledge could have prepared him for. But less than 9 months after his diagnosis he picked up his sword and placed second in the world saber fencing championship. To me, there is no greater proof of the might of the sword.

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The Pen is Mightier.

Timothy Brennan - Think-Off finalist 2002

Timothy Brennan In Act V, scene vii of Macbeth, Shakespeare writes, "Why should I play the Roman fool, and die on mine own sword?" A query for people who both live and die by the sword. That these words were penned over five hundred years ago speaks volumes. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Man wields both. Where the pen is controlled by Man, the majority rules. Where the sword is controlled by man, the minority rules. Man is at its collective best when celebrating its successes and honestly confronting its failures. The pen allows this to occur. From Shakespeare to John Lennon; from George Bernard Shaw to Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John; from Sammy Cahn to Thomas Jefferson; the pen's production has proven to be infinite. The sword's production is finite. The pen produces and nurtures life. The sword produces and nurtures death. Man was born to live, not die prematurely by the sword. In a curious way, intelligence is at the heart of the matter. The pen demands intelligence. The sword reprimands intelligence. The pen has aided Man's quest for intelligence. The sword has repressed it. Even in societies where the sword is the controlling element, the same controlling societies fear the pen more than anything else. Thus, the pen, in any form, is suppressed. The controlled thirst for the pen, smuggle the pen both in and out of their suppression, are more willing to die for the pen than for the sword. America, the greatest nation in history, was founded by the pen. A majority of nations emulate our pen or are guided by it. Oppressive nations continue to suppress the pen. They are afraid of its power. The world's religions were all birthed by the pen. Guttenburg's 1455 invention of the moveable type system press was recently voted the most significant event of the 2000 millennium. The pen, once massed produced, has led Man from the Dark Ages through Enlightenment through the Space Age to the threshold of mapping itself. The pen will eventually lead us to our origin. The pen is government. The pen is literature. The pen is music. The pen is stage. The pen is law. The pen is advertisement. The pen is dictionary. The pen is religion. The pen is newspaper. The pen is book. The pen is children's crayon. The pen is quill. The pen is computer. The pen is epitaph. The pen is cave wall. The pen is radio waves to distant galaxies. The pen causes Man to raise its sword. The pen causes Man to lay down its sword. The pen is history. The pen is future. The sword will always be with a minority of Man; however, the pen will outlive the majority of Man. The pen produces reason, stimulating the difference between Man and animal. The sword produces chaos, preventing growth in the difference between Man and animal. As a teacher I have seen the educational power of the pen as our youngsters learn its language. As a teacher I have also seen the demeaning power of the sword, its cutting edge, as it endangers our families, our schools, and our streets. The pen is carried with pride by our young and used for enrichment. The sword is carried with anger by our young and used for defilement. Enrichment deters anger. The pen is mightier than the sword.

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The Sword is Mightier.

Barbara Parker Think-Off 2002

THE SWORD WINS THE BATTLE
By Barbara Parker February 11, 2002
Having spent the past half hour wielding a broom, chasing a squirrel around our house, I am forced to reconsider my well-reasoned premise that the pen is mightier than the sword. I am now firmly convinced that the sword is indeed more potent than the pen. My theory of yesterday assumed a fairly stable world, with its historic cycles of war, famine and economic recession. In such a world the sword has but momentary power, no matter how deadly the result at the time. People may die, buildings may crumble, but words live on. Bones may rot, but epitaphs are read over and over. Therefore, or so I believed before confronted by Rocky, the largest squirrel ever to set bushy tail in Littleton, N.C., the "terrible, swift sword" is only terrible because someone wrote that, in fact, it is. But my stand changed today, as I rushed wildly around, yelling primeval sounds and squealing girly squeals. Rocky was not my first brush with unwanted creatures. My husband and I have been visited by snakes, mice, bats, honeybees, as well as by the occasional unruly human guest. Rocky's invasion, however, was particularly irritating as I had planned to spend a nice rainy afternoon reading and dozing, not screeching and bearing weapons. I was also complacent in my choice of sides in the Great American Think-Off and ready to polish up my organized and logical essay. As I reflect on my afternoon, however, the question becomes: "What good would my pen have been in pursuit of Rocky?" Answer: He and I did not stop to discuss the issue. The sword won the day, or so I think. Rocky, I believe, still is skulking round the basement. We're at a squirrel standoff. He won't go out when I open the door, and I can't leave it open all afternoon for fear that some of his friends will come for tea. So I make forays, opening the door and waiting for the enemy to attack (or, hopefully, to retreat in this case). This is typical warlike behavior. Aha - but the true questions, and the thorn that mars my otherwise reasonable argument, is that I am, in fact, recording this. Rocky is, or soon will be, scampering around in the woods, wreaking havoc elsewhere. I am using what remains of my frazzled reason to make sense of, to analyze (as we humans feel the need to do) this hair raising incident. My broom won the day, but my pen has the last word. But which, the pen or the sword, is more powerful? As with most questions, this pen vs. sword one can be argued convincingly both ways, and even both ways at one time. During WWII, Winston Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt gave eloquent speeches, phrases of which remain golden in our memories. "Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days."; "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - these phrases inspired nations to further determined struggle vs. the enemy. But the bottom line was the use of the sword, the gun, the machine gun, the bayonet, the bomb. And through these weapons came the victory. Similarly, on September 20, 2001, George Bush gave a speech that may long live as one of the greatest written. His writer penned words that united our nation and even, briefly, our political parties. Again, however, the bottom line was that only the sword could end the war that we face. Bush immediately sent our military to Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban and bin Laden. Words will unite our country, but they won't mean a hill of beans to the enemy. It may be presumptuous to compare my adventure with wars and great orations. However, the analogy is valid. When faced with immediate peril, in the face of Rocky the rodent, I resorted to the sword (in this case a broom, but the intent was the same as if it had been a sword). I would have been pleased to write an epitaph for Rocky, but I needed to do battle with him first. I am a communicator. I love words. I love talking. I love reasoning, arguing, debating, selling my point of view. Rocky wasn't interested in any of those things; therefore they were useless during our afternoon safari. The pen is only mighty if the opponent is willing to listen. The sword makes no distinction as it conquers.

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The Pen is Mightier

Jenna Madsen Think-Off 2002

Even though The Pen: Stronger than the Sword Jenna Madsen Even though the steel sword inflicts immense pain, words spoken and written bite and destroy far more that a sword made of steel could ever accomplish. I remember quietly reading my book outside of my class in sixth grade when I saw the "In" crowd approach me out the corner of my eye. Of course this stereotype group only accepted members who were the most popular, both boys and girls, of the school. They walked through the halls like they owned every individual and the school as a whole. I watched the boys shove helpless boys with fearful eyes, to the ground and spit in their faces. The popular girls glared at me as I passed them, praying they wouldn't say anything. On occasion, I would hear of the hurtful remarks that left their mouths, but I refused to let their taunting get to me. I would not let them destroy the woman I wanted to become. That warm fall day, for some particular reason, that group lashed out at the students with seemingly more harmful words than usual. I couldn't avoid them in the halls, as they followed me like hawks soaring for their prey. Their stinging glares and biting remarks gnawed at my mental state of mind constantly. I remember standing at my locker their voices buzzing behind me, surrounding me like bees at a beehive. Every name in the book flew from their mouths as if those words had no meaning to them. I only suffered a few bruises from the fall I took. Their words that they spoke scarred me worse than an actual sword, inside. I felt as if those words built a home inside my memory, refusing to move out. However, I began to write what they said to me in a journal and how it made me feel. I wrote amazing poetry and short stories on how it felt to live my life. Every emotion that had ever crossed my mind explained itself on the pages. Some of the words I wrote on the paper stared back at me with hatred and disgust but I could release my feelings safely. As the journal began to fill up, I took it to school with me, finding any possible free moment to write in it. Big mistake! As my emotions flowed onto the paper like the ocean on sand, one of the popular girls snuck up behind me and snatched it out of my hands. My body trembled with fear and anger as she proceeded to read it out loud. I felt mortified as she read my inner most thoughts to everyone surrounding me. As I watched her face it changed from fun and pleasure to a distorted look of pain and torture. My words burned through her like an uncontained fire with no way to put it out. They stared back at her as if everything I wrote created an eruption of guilt inside of her causing such pain in my life. Tears welled in her eyes as she read the page about how she made me feel and the awful words she spoke to me. It seemed like my words enlightened her on how she made other people feel by me describing how I felt from her words. She stood there in an overwhelmed state of shock as her friends looked down ashamed of the hurt they caused. Obviously the pen I held in my hand was more powerful than a physical fight. I remember the words that she spoke to me exactly. She said, "I feel terrible for what happened. I never realized that my words could hurt you this bad. Now I know what it feels like to be this hurt. It feels as if a hand just slapped my face. Your words are far more powerful than anything we've ever done to you." Tears welled up in both our eyes as we learned one of the most important lessons in life. From that day forth we were inseparable. She realized that even though she used her physical strength to try to hurt me, my words left her breathless. They tore at her conscience and truth. Because the words that I wrote were true, they caused more pain that any steel sword could inflict. Words leave scars in people even though the sword hurts more at the moment. Words hang on people's lips for a lifetime, which is far more important and powerful than any steel sword.