Words speak louder than...actions?

You have heard the saying a million times: "Actions speak louder than words", but have you ever thought that saying it backwards could also have a meaning? Well it does. And I couldn't find a better example than Yellow Journalism.

This concept was used for the first time around 200 years ago, during The Spanish-American War, which many actually believe was the main reason why the war even became a war. Journalists manipulated and dramatized the events going on at that time between the United States and Spain in order to influence thousands of people's opinions.

Today, it is so common to see Yellow Journalism in our every day lives that is not even that relevant to us anymore, we're so used to it. Newspapers are constantly competing by modifying stories and creating crazy headlines to summarize events.

How about the Swine Flu? Do you remember how crazy everybody went last year, thinking that the whole world would get infected? Egyptian newspaper "Al-Wafd" had on its front page: "Half the World Population Is Under the Threat of Swine Flu". Were we really? As we see it now, not even a quarter of the population became infected, and we all know that there wasn't really that much of a reason to panic the way some of we did. Just as we now know that there weren't logical or good enough reasons to go into war with Spain. The world was just so concerned of what the media had to say, waiting for alarming news that told us how much closer we were getting to being affected.

It's insane how powerful a few words can be. They can drive us to create feelings of hope, fear, passion, anything they might possibly want us to feel. So we realize how in many cases words can speak so loud, to be heard by the whole world. Sometimes even louder than an action itself.

Love in a time of war

June 25, 1945
Dear Judy:-

How is my best girl today? Another day nearer the time. I'll be seeing you again and who knows it might not be so far off. Anyway darling I'm looking for a furlough were going to get married immediately if not sooner as we've wasted enough of our lives as it is. How about it, do you hope with me? Well I'm still on a hangover from my visit to Scotland, I sure wish you could of been with me, maybe next time you will. I'm hoping so anyway. Say, what color is your wedding dress? You know that is one " " interested in although I admit when I was home I was more interested in becoming a bachelor. So you see maybe my being in the army has done some good at least from out. How much I missed you and that by the way is more then you'll ever know. Well honey I'm afraid I'll have to close take care of yourself and I'll be seeing you soon.
Love and Kisses,
George


June 29, 1945
Dear Judy:-

How is my best girl today? Another day with you and you darling. Gosh how I miss you. I just wish I had you in my arms right now, you'd be sorry and don't mean perhaps. Well it won't be long now and then will come the happy day. Last night I went to the show and seen "The White Cliffs of Dover". You should see it darling it will give you some idea of England. By the way it hasn't changed much since the last war, the twins are exactly the same. They look like toys. Well darling I seen my service records today and it is marked limited service. So you can see my feet are in pretty bad shape. But not bad as that I can't walk with you to the Stratford and back. Gosh them were the days. The one thing I do miss though is bowling, say how are you coming along, bowl much lately. Well darling I'm afraid I'll have to close for now take care of yourself. I love you very much.
Love and Kisses,
George


I recently read a couple of digitalized letters from the site war-letters.com, original letters from World War I. These two specially caught my attention. The tone in which they were written can be easily compared to a love letter from today, yet the setting is completely different. I put myself in his place and gave it a little more thought on what his feelings would've been like. I found 4 emotions that perfectly described his situation, and I spoke as if I were him:

Loneliness. “I don’t know anyone here. It’d be nice to see a familiar face. I miss my family, friends, and specially Judy.

Concern.“I wonder if Judy is okay. Is she going to wait for me all this time? I hope she stays faithful to my love.”

Despair. “How much I wished I had control over what happens to us, about my future.”

Anxiety. “I can’t wait to see Judy. I wake everyday and she’s not here. I hope to see her soon.”

One feeling wandered across me as I read this letters: impotence. How lucky these two were to have each other, and how impotent I felt that they couldn't be physically together. More frustrating yet, thinking about their future and all the plans they had. I would've liked to know whether they made these come true or if distance and time brought them apart.

Nowadays communication is not even close to a problem. Anywhere you may be in the world you can find a way to send a message across. This was definitely not the case back in the 1940's, obviously. I can only imagine what their lives would've been if they had access to a cell phone, or perhaps a computer. What it would've been like if George and Judy could talk to each other through a webcam once in a while. How much would this have lessened George's frustration?

Virtual controversy: A threat to society, or just another game?

We all know what war is, or do we? At least some of us think we know about it. There’s likely more than one of you who is familiar with modern war games and perhaps have even played them yourselves some time. Sure, video games are supposed to be fun, but how do we define fun? Do people really like the idea of being in war and killing people?

Even though the previous question is intended to be rhetorical, the possible answers seem to be a real problem for certain people. Many believe that such games inciting that level of violence shouldn’t portray war as being entertaining, or even exist for that matter. And I couldn’t completely disagree. War is neither enjoyable nor moderate. In fact, the concept of war shown in video games is slightly a portion of the real deal. Games make it seem like war is just about killing and surviving, when in reality it is so much more than that. The pain, experiences, and psychological madness that soldiers go through during war couldn’t nearly been described. Not even virtuality could make you feel what they feel, see what they see, you would never fully understand, no matter how many hours you played or how many records you beat. It is something that simply can’t be compared.

Despite what I just argued, my opposition on war games is not as strong as it may seem. In cases where a video game is based on actual wars and most information is accurate, it becomes educational. It now helps players with distinct range of ages to learn about World History in a way they find interesting and may relate to as they play. I think banning such games from being produced/played would be a drastic, unnecessary solution.

Personally, I believe that whether it favors us or affects us is more in our hands rather than in technology’s, or whoever is creating it. It’s the attitude a person takes toward a game that makes it right or wrong. Are you going to play the game, or is the game going to play you? There are kids, teenagers, and adults who get so involved with these games and start to find joy in playing until it goes overboard. No one should feel the need to have a game like these in their lives too badly. People who play them once in a while in a healthy manner (as a distraction or for amusement, or whatever the reason may be) have absolutely no reason to be “threatened” by the game’s violence influence or develop negative effects upon them.

Ultimately, one has the choice to decide how you want your children to be formed and what you want them to learn. Each individual has the freedom to create their own future. Just as the quote says: “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”


Yawney, Mike. "Modern Warfare 2 the Most Pirated Game of 2009." December 30th, 2009. December 7th, 2010.