Photo: Taken from clarin.com

The Word, an Exercise in Conscience

Those of us who feel the need to write enjoy the power of words. In the case of journalists, we use them to ask questions, write, and publish. Then readers, listeners, or viewers read or hear them. In the case of television, they are supported by images. Hence the semiotician saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.

We as a reporters have used thousands of words to disseminate news, commentaries, reports, and interviews. Thus spreading the reality of this world—called a global village. Due to the development of information technology and communications. Which have made it increasingly smaller and closer, despite the enormous distances.

But words mean much more, because they are the vehicle through which our lives connect with reality. Thanks to them, we become aware by expressing what we have experienced: they offer us the possibility of giving meaning to all experiences. From the seemingly banal to the transcendent; in other words, they help us give meaning to existence.

Thanks to words, we perceive differences and contrasts. And we connect with the world. With them, we create and explore real universes, in the case of reporters, and imaginary ones. In the conception of storytellers—although journalists shouldn’t renounce subjectivity to embellish the news story.

Words are a bridge and a path to knowing and recognizing those around us. Discovering their nuances, their humanity, and, of course, they are also the vehicle to reach ourselves. Paradoxically, they also help us gain distance, perspective, and even to vent our feelings.

“A word is half the one who speaks it, half the one who hears it,” wrote Michel de Montaigne. The great 16th-century French writer and creator of the essay, the literary genre most appropriate for developing ideas and reflections.

Words belong to both parties in a dialogue when it is sincere. Also when attentive listening takes place, when there is a will to connect. We situate ourselves in them, and that is why they unite us. Leading us to exchange, to relationship, to dialogue. And that’s how they make us see, feel, and grow.

Some words encapsulate experiences, feelings, longings, and even a lifetime. The name of a favorite place, the song that evokes a memory, the poem that always accompanies us, the voice of our loved ones. Hearing words like love, friend, or father evokes and recreates a universe of memories and emotions, sometimes richer and more intense than reality itself.

Expressed spontaneously, a “goodbye,” a “thank you,” a “please,” or an “I love you” can illuminate a moment. And depending on the circumstances, it can become the memory that gives meaning to a life.

Often, a kind and sincere voice is more therapeutic than any medicine. It can bring us joy and tenderness from the most unexpected places. A “I love you” spoken by my daughter Isabella, to give a personal example, can make a moment of anguish disappear.

Words surprise and move us. With it, we can achieve inner purification: alleviate pain, deal with doubts, anger, and guilt, end arguments, heal wounds, overcome fears. Release obligations, and perhaps even break free from inner bondage.

Words have great power because they affirm, deny, denounce, reveal, expose, inform, move, and convince. But it is up to us humans, who have the gift and privilege of possessing them. To choose the appropriate language at every moment, as an exercise in conscience and responsibility.

José Miguel Ávila Pérez
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