The Power of Words

Oh the wonderful power of words. Or, on the other hand, the destructive power of words. Or even just the simple power of humor of words. Words are everywhere, in everything. It's how we communicate. It's how we think. It's almost even how we feel. Yet one can easily wonder, what makes a word so powerful? What is a word, but a coherent jumble of squiggles on a piece of paper (or a computer screen, in this case)? What gives these "random" markings meaning?
Simply - we do.
We as people are always looking for meaning in things. What is something worth if it has no meaning? We attach meaning to almost everything around us. Our car, our house, our dog, our lawnmower, our family, our friends, even our hair (especially our hair, it would seem). Words are no different. They become something that we attach meaning to. However, words have a strong distinction from everything else. While our hair may mean a lot to us individually, someone else may not find the same meaning in your hair. But words share a common meaning. Generally. When I tell someone to "stop," that person (again, generally, because there are ALWAYS exceptions) understands that I want them to cease whatever they are doing. When I say "bus," an imagine of a large vehicle designed to transport large numbers of people quickly appears in our minds (and most often it is yellow in color, strange). Our words have meaning.
By giving words meaning, we also give them power. The oft-quoted phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword" might be said to apply quite well here. How many a person, strong in stature and powerful, has been easily crushed by a single word? How many young children on the playground have withdrawn into themselves at the teasing words of another? How many fights and deaths have resulted from the utterance of a simple phrase? How many persons have cheered and thrown themselves with unheard-of courage into the face of danger following the words of one person? There are countless examples of the power that words possess, both positive and negative. But it is imperative that we remember that words only have power through their meaning, and their meaning comes from what we give it. If I claim that "spunnnchis" is a word, who is to say I am wrong? If I attach meaning to that collection of letters, it becomes a word. And given time, that word can grow in power to mean something beyond what I give it today. Don't believe me that the creation of a new word can have lasting effects? Go look up the book "Frindle" and see for yourself.
I do understand that this is definitely not a new topic or thought. This simply came from a pattern of thoughts from a friend correcting me on my use of the word "y'alls," which is technically incorrect (for all concerned, the correct use is "y'all," as it is already plural, and therefore adding an "s" to the end would make it a double plural, which I don't believe exists). From one simple word came a lot of thought and thinking, which is only partially expressed here. So what meaning do you give your words? What power do you grant them? And how carefully do you choose what you say? You never know what one word might do.