Words

            The powerful and those in positions of power speak strong words, efficacious words, significant words. Long ago words of power rang out across time and space creating our reality. Yet even today, words, especially those from positions of authority, remain creative. They build up or tear down. They unite or they divide. They heal or they wound. They bring life or they bring death. Those in positions of power must weigh their words carefully, attending to the effects, intended and otherwise. Once loosed, words display staying power; often resisting our efforts to recall or retract. All too frequently we learn this particular lesson far too late.

            During the second half of my military career, I enjoyed the privilege of working around a large number of General Officers. I benefited from their presence in ways both they and I found surprising. Some General Officers remained taciturn, rarely engaging in conversation. They would receive a brief, perhaps as a question or two and then leave without comment. As a staff officer I found this lack of response frustrating. I wanted to know what they thought of my work. With this type of General feedback would trickle down from the aid, chief of staff, or some other “beautiful person” enjoying a position in the inner circle. Despite my unease, this behavior indicated great wisdom. A General such as this had learned to carefully weigh their words. They knew that we hung on their words, wrote them down, and then took action based on what we thought they were saying; often with disappointing or disastrous results. Then there were the other Generals.

            Voluble men and women, they loved the attention, bordering on adulation. They spoke their mind; frequently without filter. One I worked around spouted off ideas left and right, like a firework stand in flames. They left chaos in their wake. More than one hapless staff officer would twist and turn in a vain effort to bring some half-formed utterance to fruition only to find that the General had moved on, not even remembering what they’d said. Hours, days, sometimes weeks of effort for no real purpose. We half-jokingly said that the good-idea-fairy hovered around his head and every time she would hit it with a wand another crazy idea would pop out. After meetings with him we would gather and sort through the myriad of notes trying to decipher what was important from the mound of ideas he’d let loose. As long as I knew him, he never learned to weigh his words. Then there was the XVIII Airborne Corps commander I worked for in Iraq (I was not in his personal inner circle, just in a section he felt was important).

            We briefed him at least once a week. He rarely gave much input, other than to graciously say thanks. We yearned for more feedback. Occasionally he would offer some sort of course correction or ask a rhetorical question designed to reorient our activities. When he did offer input, it was brief, unambiguous and directive in nature. We knew exactly what he wanted from the sparse words he uttered. A few foolish staff officers mistook his slow speech for a slow mind. He carefully weighed his words, knowing that we would turn them into orders that other men and women would carry out. He also knew the gravity of the situation; that soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors would face peril due to his words. Consequently, he listened and thought a great deal, speaking only rarely.

           Those in positions of power must think long and hard before they speak. They must understand that once uttered words, especially in the realm of government, take on a life of their own. If spoken flippantly the results can be horrific. Their words change the arc of people’s lives, often in negative directions. Even those words loosed by mortals are a creative force, especially if the mortal enjoys a position of power and authority. Thoughtless words, blasted out with little consideration for their results, damage. Wise words, carefully, even prayerfully, considered carry hope, healing, and life.