The Power of Words

Leash Alaine
Mr. Michael Freeman
HUM422D
April 15, 2014

The Power of Words

      Words have a lot of meaning behind them whether people realize it or not. There are countless situations when people would say damaging words to a person they may quarrel with and regret the words they used because of the consequences. It is sad to see the amount of power certain words have in the life of a community of people. A recent situation that brought a fourteen-year-old in trouble with law resulted from one statement they made on their social media. 

      This situation that happened with this particular fourteen-year-old occurred last Sunday the thirteenth in Paris, France (Bilefsky 2). This teenager might have been dared to do a devilish thing by writing an "so-called" threat to American Airlines. Most people should have the common sense to know that teenagers are in their stage of life when they make really silly unwise decisions. For this individual, the words they wrote on their social media page drew negative attention to them. It was only six minutes before they found themselves in trouble with the law and needing to locate a lawyer (4-5).  

      Some people may find this situation to be messed up and not be dealt with seriously. On the other hand, other people might be in favor with how the French authorities are handling the situation. The point that writer Dan Bilefsky strives to make is to warn people that what they write on their social media pages can bring them in trouble with the law. This is not a situation that should be seen as sin. The only wrong thing about the situation is that the teenager was foolish when deciding to post such a statement on their social media page. 

      Proverbs 10:23 states this: "Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding". This only shows that the teenager was insensitive to the pain that the American people have dealt with in the twenty-first century. It would not be surprising to learn that the teenager was being advised by some of their peers to not post such a condemning statement. By not listening to wise advice, this also shows that they were unteachable in listening to the warnings of some people who tried to tell them that consequences involving the law my take place. 

      But is what this teenager did ethical? Of course what the teenager did was unethical. The world has been in constant chaos since the weekly reports of crime have sky-rocketed. This particular teenager should have had the knowledge to know that what they did was childish and unnecessary. Now they have to deal with the consequences of their actions because of the decisions they made. This account of the teenager's action should be an eye-opener to people in learning that it is better to take advice from the wise than to say things you may think are acceptable. 

Works Cited:

Bilefsky, Dan. "14-Year-Old Arrested for Sending Prank Tweet." The New York Times.                The New York Times, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. Web.

Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2001. Print.