In ancient Greece, Greek citizens were committed to their community by being personally involved in politics and the idea of civic virtue. For the Greeks, being involved in the community was crucial. They left their mark on history; much like nowadays in what many call the Digital Age, anyone can have a blog and become involved in sharing a simple opinion, be it about politics or any subject… If it is written, it is part of our history. The importance of writing is undeniable, but why do we write things down?
Well, there are many clear reasons as to why we write things down, some of them are: to be organized, to document things in order to later remember the matter, to conceptualize ideas and inventions (As Da Vinci and many others did), and to visit our past through written memories, (which is the reason why I use the micro blog- Twitter; besides, it would be really interesting in 10 years to see what I was doing or thinking on October 21, 2009). Perhaps the most prominent reason for me is that people write things down because writing is not monitored by anyone, writing is simply derived from the individual’s imagination and one is free to write about whatever one desires. Simply put by William Zinsser, “Writing is thinking on paper.” The writer has the choice to privatize or publicize what they write, which is one of the many great things about writing.
Personally, I couldn’t get through the day without writing something by hand. For instance, writing what I plan to do daily helps me focus and keep track of my life. Historically, writing has made marvelous contributions to society. Documented historic events have shown us how to correct errors and shape humanity as it is today. Our duty is to educate ourselves and learn from these past mistakes just as the future world will learn from ours, made possible by writing. Consequently, writing has a measureless influence on our society, and it is important that we express ourselves in writing, even if it is just expressing our opinions on a blog.
Have you read any of your classmate's posts about why we write things down? What I find interesting is that no one really agrees as to why! We all do it for different reasons, at different times and in different ways. What does that mean about how messages are constructed?
ReplyDeleteYour post got me thinking about the differences between a written and oral tradition of conveying information. When you talked about seeing what you were thinkig or doing ten years in the future, that is something that could only be done in a written media. Oral traditions are always ever-present. Anything not of immediate use or interest is discarded or quickly forgotten. Anyone a little different or ahead of their time is doomed to obscurity and oblivion. But with a written format, a poet like Emily Dickinson, who was never even published in her lifetime, can have her writings "discovered" years later, and become a major cultural force.
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