Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination.
— Ludwig Wittgenstein
That the boundary between the real and the imagined is porous was proven this week when a well packaged web of lies provoked a gunman to shoot up my neighborhood pizzeria.
Words are how we think, and how we think is "not just mildly interesting, but a matter of life and death," says historian Howard Zinn.
"If those in charge of our society—politicians, generals, corporate executives and owners of press and television—can control our ideas, they will be secure in their power. If they dominate our thought, they will not need soldiers patrolling the streets."
Words are powerful.
Handle them with care.
"Outright media lies are easy to debunk," says Shoq. "It’s the lazy, fact-free, inside baseball analysis that’s killing us.”
