Resolved: The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

Thank you to anyone who participates in this debate.I will be arguing Pro (accpetance) in regards to the resolution.The Resolution goes as follows: The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword. Before beginning I would like to define the resolution.The Pen (a writing utensil) is mightier (in this case, mightier meaning: in all aspects better---not only stength wise, but artistically, vocally, mentally, etc.) than the sword (a fighting weapon, known for its strength, beauty, and heroic persona---note though... are not arguing whether or not the object a pen is mightier than a sword, but in regard to the idiom---meaning that using words and communication are more powerful than wars and fighting)The debate should go as follows: Round one---arguments put forth---Round Two---cross-examination (or rebuttals of opponents contentions) and closing statements NO NEW ARGUMENTS!Good Luck.Before I begin, I'd like to start off with some quotes in regards to the proposition of this debate--- Nonviolence is a sword that heals. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) Nonviolence (as opposed to spilling blood) is a weapon unique in history. Not only does it ennoble the man who wields it, but it also effectively heals the wounds. The African-American Civil Rights Movement is a shining example of how nonviolent protest gained moral justification and thus won this very struggle.An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. As Ghandi said, discussion and non-violent action are the best (and the only justifiable) means to achieving justice. If we tackle injustice by committing injustice, opression by opression, violence by violence, we ourselves undermine the values our society stands for.________________________________________________________________________Argument One: Many people who have advocated this saying in the pastIt's true. Although the saying 'The pen is mightier than the sword" is the most mainstream way of saying that words are better than conflict, many people are known as being predecessors of this very true saying.Their first example comes from the Greek playwright Euripides, who died circa 406 BC. He is supposed to have written: "The tongue is mightier than the blade."Several possible precursors do appear in the Old and New Testaments, for example, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, whose authorship is uncertain, verse 4:12 reads: "Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart."The Islamic prophet Muhammad is quoted as saying "The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr".In 1529, Antonio de Guevara, in Reloj de príncipes, compared a pen to a lance, books to arms, and a life of studying to a life of war. Thomas North, in 1557, translated Reloj de príncipes into English as Diall of Princes.The analogy would appear in again in 1582, in George Whetstone's An Heptameron of Civil Discourses: "The dashe of a Pen, is more greeuous than the counterbuse of a Launce."Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, who died in 1602 and was personal scribe and vizier to Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (Akbar the Great), wrote of a gentleman put in charge of a fiefdom having "been promoted from the pen to the sword and taken his place among those who join the sword to the pen, and are masters both of peace and war. Syad Muhammad Latif, in his 1896 history of Agra, quoted King Abdullah of Bokhara (Abdullah-Khan II), who died in 1598, as saying that "He was more afraid of Abu'l-Fazl's pen than of Akbar's sword."Robert Burton, in 1621, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, stated: "It is an old saying, A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword: and many men are as much galled with a calumny, a scurrilous and bitter jest, a libel, a pasquil, satire, apologue, epigram, stage-play or the like, as with any misfortune whatsoever."After listing several historical examples he concludes: "Hinc quam sit calamus saevior ense patet",which translates as "From this it is clear how much more cruel the pen may be than the sword."Thomas Jefferson, on June 19, 1792, ended a letter to Thomas Paine with: "Go on then in doing with your pen what in other times was done with the sword: shew that reformation is more practicable by operating on the mind than on the body of man, and be assured that it has not a more sincere votary nor you a more ardent well-wisher than Y[ou]rs. &c. Thomas Jefferson"The French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), known to history for his military conquests, also left this oft-quoted remark: “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.”Published in 1830, by Joseph Smith, Jr, an account in the Book of Mormon related, "the word had a greater tendency to lead the people to do that which was just; yea, it had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword"As you can see, there havebeen many famous scholars, philosphical thinkers, and advocates of this in the past. But not only in the past, but the present as well.Believe it or not, in a recent study held by the American Society of Phsychological Thinking, Chicago, ILL., showed that almost 90% of people hold these truths to be self-evident, that they think in that frame of mind (words before actions). In a poll held by the same instiution, it showed that more than 90% of people would rather believethat the pen is mightier than the sword, and would act that way.Argument Two: Acting on this saying is the best wayAside from people agreeing with the saying, you must also apply it to real world situations...is the pen actually mightier (and more effective) than the sword? The answer is yes.There have been several incidens in the past where the pen has shown more prominent ivolvement and succeeded in doing so, than as compaed to the sword.Although when you think of a pen, you don't think of strength necessarily, the pen does show awesome strength not only physically but mentally.As displayed at the beginning of this debate, the pen is most definately mightier than the sword. The instance stated at the beg. was during the-African American civil rights movement. Like mentioned, this was a shining example of how nonviolent protest gained moral justification and thus won this very struggle.A strong example of how the pen is mightier than the sword was by the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.Gandhi most def. succeeded in reachinis goals...and how? Through non-violence. His goal was to bring freedom to India. He wanted to make India independent from British rule. He did this by using non-violence. He influenced many to do the same and it eventually worked. The British left. The British were there for profits so Gandhi decided that if you don't buy anything from the British, then they will have no reason to be there. The British were cruel to many Indians. Gandhi helped establish India's new government and he helped overthrew British rule which led to India's independence.Argument Three: Words are powerfulFinally, I am here to say that words are the most powful thing someone can possess naturally. Words are used to persuade and change through a just and peaceful manner, as compared to immediate action through physical means (the sword)Social commentator Stanley Kurtz argued that: 'Words are the passage of mind. Killing is the will taken. It is not who can do more or less, but who can make it the best. Keep that in mind with words, and you will succeed undoubtedlyNot to mention, real quickly, words are always the resolution of a conflict, physcially or mentally. For example, when a war ends, a treaty is signed, and that treaty is prominent THROUGH WORDS, through conext, and through the pen in general. The structure to our constitution, ammendments, and many more important documents is all because of the powerful affect of WORDS, and nothing more than that!