The Power of Words

30 Jun 2021

Tong kosong nyaring bunyinya is a famous age-old Indonesian proverb, which means people who say so much but cannot work efficiently. We all hate this type of person, but are words really that incapable to use? Given the development of technology and networking, we can easily say what’s on our mind and make it sound as cheap and easier to do than actions. However, don’t underestimate the power of words as people do make changes with them easily.

Given the development of technology and networking, we can easily say what’s on our mind and make it sound as cheap and easier to do than actions

One of many reasons why words are strong is that it’s a way of communication. We all spread information, rumors, the good and bad news using words. Influential people use their speeches, authors use their literary works, mothers use their gossip, and youngsters use their social media to share information about the world. Using words, people worldwide can enrich themselves, learning from the journals that the academicians make about recent scientific theories, or news reports that the journalists make about anything all around the world.

While it’s true that words offer limitless advantages, people would argue that the time for uttering those words could be used in an action more because doing it is more useful. It’s without a doubt that those committed actions will make a change immediately. However, we also have to be aware that a one-man show is not enough to make significant changes. So, let all the youngsters actively post encouraging quotes and statuses through their social media platforms, and let the capable ones do the actions encouraged by them. Hence, we can all do our portion of contributions and support each other.

However, we also have to be aware that a one-man show is not enough to make significant changes

Easy to utter, write, and share: those are the characteristics of words. Everyone can easily use them, even students like us could aid their local issues by collecting donations and charities with just a few words. Sadly, words can also be detrimental to our lives. They are so powerful, without careful thoughts, lives will perish. Reported by Republika, on June 16th, 2020, there was a case of a son hoed his mother to death. The reason? Simple, he felt tired after being scolded by her after a tiring day at paddy field (Putra, 2020). There are also many other suicides because of cyber-bullying all around the world. These unfortunate events could be avoidable by using the words wisely. As easy as words provide, we should be aware of the responsibility when we use certain words.

With all the power that words offer, people should benefit from using it just as much as others do actions and they should be free to choose one or both. It is essential that people contribute to the world despite whatever method they use. Despite the proverb—tong kosong nyaring bunyinya—noble means to always be a person who walks the talk, it is not always good to implement it blindly and avoid using words entirely because words are powerful tools in their own way. Let’s not discourage and judge others. Just do whatever you can do within the power each of us has . We have to always remember that whichever tools you pick, use them wisely to avoid unfortunate events. Hopefully, we will eventually achieve the objectives we aspire to accomplish.

Editor: Nadia Salsabila & Handiko Wijaya

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Maharani Dwisetia Sri Rezeki