Words and Pictures

My long time buddy Tom has been posting some awesome pictures he took of Upper Antelope Canyon. Spectacular place. Fantastic photos. Amazing really. I think Tom is very talented. I have several other friends who do photography and I am humbled by some of their pictures. I will probably have to get myself a nice quality digital camera here pretty soon. I probably would still not be as talented as them, regardless of the technology.

It makes me think about the old saying, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'.  In the cases of some of the pictures that inspire us all, the thousand may be an understatement.

I can think of this picture.

And this.

Yet, some words can not be replaced by a box full of pictures.

The Gettysburg Address had 272 words that could not be replaced by a vault of pictures. Those immortal words encompassed the death of  thousands of Americans, the ravaging of a countryside and the terrible yoke of slavery our country endured.

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12 was a mere 98 words, again a treasure of words irreplaceable by all the pictures in the world. Simple succinct, and powerful.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

There are even single words that transpose all possible pictures.  The 'N' word comes immediately to my mind.  One single word that stores so much hurt, pain, innuendo, oppression, and anger. I myself would be glad to have that word eradicated from all vocabulary (sorry Mr. Twain!). 10000 pictures could not do justice to the impact of this single word on society.

We do have freedom of speech in this country. This blog is a perfect example. I love that right bestowed on my by our founding Fathers. Still, we must take responsibility for the words we choose to use.  What offends other people is real to them and does have consequences. With the freedom of speech we also need to think of the consequences of what issues from our lips.

1000 words, 1000 Pictures.  In a Web enabled world both are accumulated at a rate never before seen. Some pictures are not even worth the digital bytes they inhabit.  The website 'The People Of Walmart" is an example of this. Shameless. 99% of Web content is of this nature. And a lot of printed words are of the same value.  I have to think of the Twilight Saga as an example.  It is hard to believe that series chewed up as much attention as it did.

Every time someone posts a 'true story' on 'Facebook' my critical antennae rise like Ray Walston on My Favorite Martian. I find that I doubt every fact posted. Many of the 'facts' posted can be quickly discounted if you go to a site like snopes.com.  It amazes me that my antennae are so attuned, until I realize that I may be missing 50% of the ones that don't tickle my probes. It also amazes me that people repost these suspect facts without checking.

We do have freedom of speech in this country. This blog is a perfect example. I love that right bestowed on my by our founding Fathers. Still, we must take responsibility for the words we choose to use.  What offends other people is real to them and does have consequences. With the freedom of speech we also need to think of the consequences of what issues from our lips or posts online.

My personal preference is to not offend. And I feel it is important to express that I know my opinions are not 'facts'. My observations are not gospel. And I have a responsibility to check my facts before I profligate them.  I am responsible for my 1000 pictures and 1000 words, and so are you.

Cheers, nca