Being Heard Through "The Word"

In My Religion Helen Keller famously said, "For nearly six years I had no concepts whatever of nature or mind or death or God. I literally thought with my body...Then, suddenly, I knew not how or where or when, my brain felt the impact of another mind, and I awoke to language, to knowledge, to love...I was actually lifted from nothingness to human life..."   

Some of you may be rolling your eyes, thinking how incredibly cliché it is to use Helen Keller as an example of "finding herself" through language, but bear with me!

 The important thing, typically left out of Keller's story, is what she did with her realization--she made sure her voice was heard, even if that meant angering  powerful people, including President Woodrow Wilson, who persecuted the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, of which she was a member.  

 Helen Keller was a radical socialist, a revolutionary voice for the voiceless, who boldly championed the rights of the disenfranchised, from those who are disabled, to the rights of ethnic minorities, women, and industrial workers.

The fact that many people don't know this is no accident. Keller's legacy has been tamed into a heroic tale of overcoming overwhelming odds with the help of a dedicated teacher (See Lies My Teacher Told Me for more). But Keller undoubtedly wished people would take advantage of that which no one can take--their voice. It is ironic that after struggling so hard to essentially create herself with language, Keller has been silenced by history.

The point? Take advantage of the power of written and spoken word by building arguments. Combine what you know through experience with what our amazing library has to offer. Using the power of language, Keller discovered a world filled with people needlessly suffering and said something about it. Will we do the same, or will we remain silent?