THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

     As one who comes out of the Language Arts classroom and as a lifetime voracious reader, I believe I understand the power and purpose of language, be it verbal or written. Language can be formal or informal, but the end purpose is the same - to communicate something to another being or beings.
     Long married partners, or people who have long known each other often have other means of communication, be it by a tiny signal such as the movement of an eyebrow or finger. This works fine too.
     But in all methods of communication the point is to get one's point across and to hear out the other person. Not to do so is a violation of the laws of humanity and civilization. Today's world, with its tweets and instant pictures and chats, with its corrupted language and purposeful ignorance of the rules of grammar does not encourage true communication and we see that with people who cannot sit and chat without constantly fiddling with their phones checking email, or whatnot. Children sit side by side emailing and im'ing each other rather than talk face to face. This is not a good sign for future communication.
     What we have here in the Village is a purposeful defiance of the communication necessary for our Village to function on a positive and productive manner. For example, we had a couple, the Greggs, who unselfishly gave of their time, energy and money to set up a truly productive Channel 63. As the thanks for this, they were told to obey orders from the sinister Ed Black, and when they refused on principle, they resigned rather than bow down to violations of free and open communication here in the Village. A true shame and loss for us.
      We have a president who finds it difficult to string together sentences, written and/or verbal in order to communicate. He must have his ghost writer, Lanny, or spokespeople - Ed, Peter Cruz, Joy Vestal et al ad nauseum- though I believe Ed is more of the dictator than the dictated to. Having stared into a computer for his working life and having computers as his main décor at home, David Israel has no idea of what it means to truly communicate, share ideas with others and even at a forum for just such sharing, he loses the reins and shouts and screeches and threatens and mischairs the entire program. His contempt for all others, for any and all who do not conform to his rulings and opinions, who do not bow down to his edicts, to his sneaky and not by the by laws method of administration comes through loud and clear. His knowledge that he is losing it is clear in his hysterical rants which consist mainly of the phrases - "sit down" or "out of order" or "call 911".
     In other words, there is no functioning language of communication here in the Village. The area VPs seem to be neglectful of their areas so what good are they. We can give Fausto a bit more of a chance as he is new to the job, but time is running out on that responsibility and détente.  I am sorely disappointed in Barbara Cornish who appears to have gone over heart and soul to the dark side. She has contacted no one from the reformers to offer them a seat on a committee, opted out of the Messenger club emails, yes, that same club that had two distinguished speakers in, a standing room crowd and is printing, despite all odds, a growing newsletter on just about a weekly pace. Joy Vestal is long gone, deep into the evil dark side, running her VP position as a negligible post and concentrating on ruining the paper as she has made it into a rag, a David Israel booster and a blocker of any and all who dare to have a differing opinion.  These people are not only not allowed to write on a controversial topic - despite the printed and reiterated statement that the  paper will print all sides of an issue - HA!!! - but have banned them from any and all writing for the paper - OUR paper - no matter the topic.
     I am beginning to think that perhaps we should resort to the methodology of Shakespeare in The Tempest when Prospero would play music to calm Caliban, saying that music soothes the beast. Could we soothe the beasts in our Village? It's a thought.  The past week has brought me to three assemblies outside the Village wherein music and shared language were most important. The first was a most powerful and emotional, yet triumphant, Yom Hashoah Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day program. The music chosen, most liturgical, elicited many a tear.
     The second was a Yom Hazikaron or Day or Mourning and Remembering our fallen soldiers and victims of terror in Israel, 23,169 soldiers, boys and girls, refugees in 1948 right off the boat given rifles and sent out to defend the only land that wanted them to the present day and the thousands of terror victims, burned, knifed, kidnapped, stoned, shot, blown up and apart, from infant to elderly. The songs which were part of the program also communicated what was felt quite powerfully and there was silence as they were sung and thunderous applause for the teens and the soldiers who sang them
     Finally, I attended an Idan Raichel Project program and for those of you who do not know who he is, he is a master musical genius, recipient of many international awards, gathering the songs and the singers all over the world in a global effort which highlights the power of the language of music. There were singers and musicians from Israel, from Ethiopia, from Morocco, from Cuba, from countries of Africa, and on and on. The joy was contagious, the auditorium rocking with the enthusiasm of people from 5 to 95 who could not stay in their seats and just had to stand and clap, dance, and sing along. How much better to sing than to cry. How much better to share with each other rather than to share the cost of blood and death. There were songs of hope and songs of loss and all understood, no matter the language used.
     The choice of language, its usage and its intention are up to each and every one of us. I just wish that we chose, can choose, to make a more positive use of it. Just imagine. Just hope. Just dream. Wow.