Hey baby, what's your sign ....

Language is the means by which all information is transmitted from one human to another; it is the currency of the media. Yet, for having such importance, it seems strange that language on its own does not have superlative symbols. For example, the four letters that make up the word “love” do not have any more meaning by themselves than do the four letters that make “dirt.” How, then, did “l,” “o,” “v,” and “e” come to represent one of the most heavily weighted words in the English language? What makes those letters so special?

And why are the media constantly refining their language choices down to the most concise possible? It seems paradoxical that the media, whose jobs it is to provide people with information, pare down the number of words they use to tell a story. Efficient fact-reporting is courteous to the audience, but allowing these same people to expect that complex stories be recounted with brevity is a disservice to all. Conditioning Americans to have short attention spans robs them of the patience and motivation to read through the long articles, listen to multiple voices, and synthesize their own opinion from the largest number informed sources. The pen is mightier than the sword and knowledge is power; the media should wield their mighty loudspeaker with more reverence for the strength it language emits.