On Balance, the Pen is Mightier than the Sword.

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi No one has proven the point that violence is not the only option, nor is it the best option better than Gandhi. Because he was able to accomplish so much without using violence, I proudly stand on the Pro side of this topic. Resolved: On Balance, the Pen is Mightier than the Sword." At this point I will provide my interpretation of the topic. "On Balance" - when weighed against each other, the one that holds any advantage, no matter how substantial, is the best option. "The Pen" - the use of words and/or non-violent means to accomplish a desired goal "The Sword" - the use of force by means of inflicting physical harm upon one or more people to achieved a desired goal And with these things in mind, I would like to move to my first point of analysis - 1."Sticks and Stone may break my bones, but Words will forever haunt me." Let's take a look at a simple scenario. As a child, you are on the playground with your friends and you are pushed to the ground and scrap your elbow. You call your friend a name. This very moment that occurs on a daily basis is one of the fundamental issue at debate in this round, whether or not emotional damage is more devastating then physical damage. At the point of the incident, both kids have caused harm to each other, one in the sense of physical and the other in the sense of emotional. But which will have a more lasting effect? It should be clear that the physical damage, the scratch, will heal rapidly(assuming worst case scenarios aside like saying the kid is anemic or contracts a terminal virus from the scratch), but the emotional damage cause by the kid calling another kid a derogatory name has the potential to last for long periods of time. One need only to evaluate ones past and more often then not to realize that people remember the hurt caused by a friends words versus the hurt caused by a friends physical aggression. With that point stated, I would like to move on to my next point- 2. "The Pen" or words have the ability to start as well as end or prevent conflicts. Though I make the point that violence is a bad thing in my quote, it is just as easily instigated by words as it is by actions. But violence in and of itself, is incapable of stopping violence. On the other hand, the ability of words to be versatile in this manner makes them far superior to that of violence. Words have the ability to change and create. Words hold the ability to tame the most violent of psychopaths and to aggravate the most calm of pacifists. More often then not, violence is created by words 3. The Pen or words have the ability to educate. Not only do words have the ability to influence people and conflicts, but they lead to the advancement of mankind. Fighting does not teach you anything other than how to win at fighting. Words on the other hand, have the ability to teach you all the sciences, aspects of the arts and humanities, and communicate with other people in a way that is far more universal than aggression. Let's also take into consideration what makes one successful and powerful in life. Being educated in itself leads to a person being a more powerful individual. I will admit that violence through the form of military force may make one more powerful, but in order to gain that military force, one must be skilled in the art of persuasion and manipulation; basically one must be good with words. Thus this leads me to my next point... 4. Words can control Violence, but Violence will never control words. Violence begets violence, and the only way to stop violence for words to resolve the conflict or for those that are in conflict to perish in their violent ways. One need only look to history to realize that violence in the long run fails to suppress words. Important figures such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and many others used words to gain what they truly desired, without the use of force. Others used words, not violence to advance the human race to new heights of intellectual thought. Look to the examples of Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, The Venerable Bede, Albert Einstein, Plato and many, many more that I do not have the time to list. The list goes on and on of people throughout history who used the power of words to accomplish great deeds. And even if force does at the time suppress words, in the long run we see that words prevail. And so, with these 4 thoughts in mind, I hope that it has become evident that the power and versatility of words absolutely outweighs the power of violence.