I like words.
I mean, I really like words. It’s a likely and not wholly unpleasant side effect of being a bibliophile, but that’s a whole other den of squigs. I feel rather sad whenever I hear someone I consider a friend say that they don’t read often, or at all. In high school, whenever one of my classmates whenever saying with something almost akin to pride that they don’t read, I felt angry. Your brain is a muscle, like any other in your body, and just like your pecks or your gluts (hehe) if you don’t exercise it, it's not going to get any stronger. I'm not saying I have a problem with those who's IQ don’t break the bank, I’m one of them, but those who don’t even make the effort and seem to take pride in their laxity, they really piss me off. Words are just a way of communicating that you use your brain, and that you have exercised it by, among other things, reading. Ironically though, I find my feelings about words, as positive as they are, difficult to put into words.
As an example I would like to reference a scene form 1984 (the book). In the novel, the main character, Winston, explains what his particular job at the ministry is. He has been asked with going through the dictionary and determining which words are extraneous, or unneeded. In effect, his job is distilling the English language down to its bare essentials, eliminating anything for metaphor or flowerily speech. As a lover of words, this concept terrifies me. The ministry in 1984 seeks, as one of many ways, to eliminate the threat of rebellion by eliminating the vocabulary of resistance. How can you start a rebellion if you can’t put your feelings of unhappiness and resentment into words you can express? You’d just stew in these un-describable feelings till you go mad.
That being said, I have also found, like any other tool, language/words can be used for, less wholesome purposes. There a plethora of examples I could dredge up, but there is one particular example I wish to discuss.
I simply loath the word “excuse”. It has been a tool, mainly of parents, for subjugating other for ages. As soon as a rationale or explanation for something is labeled as an “excuse” it can be easily dismissed and has a negative connotation attached to it. I really, really hate it that. It’s a lazy way for others to dismiss your reasons and not have to take the time to argue the point. As long as it is civil and rational, I love a good argument. Matching your reasoning against another is superb fun. Persuasion is an amazing talent, one I wish I possessed. One of the many un-attributed quotes I love is as follows “True victory is making your enemy believe it was wrong to oppose you in the beginning.”

Wow, I digress. To sum up, words good, books have words, so therefore books good. Read a Book!

p.s. I am aware of the problem with the two new Amy Reccomends articles, but sadly I will be unable to fix them untill at least the 28th, sorry.