THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR WORDS

Allen and I recently began watching, and have almost completed, John Adams a seven part movie based on David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography about the founding of our nation and America's second President. There is so much to learn from this beautifully done series. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to see it.

Of the many things I’ve learned, perhaps there is none that impressed and moved me more than the eloquent, powerful ways that words both influenced the founding of our nation and impacted the lives of her people. The words used throughout this series, those spoken in general conversations or in very heated (albeit civil) debates (both publicly and privately) and words written in private letters or expressed in the extraordinary, legendary documents that remain our nation’s guidepost, are an impressive exercise in the importance of articulation and persuasion.

Which got me thinking…how wisely do we choose and use our words today? With that in mind, I’ve decided to dedicate my Friday blog to my five daughters, Candice, Sarah, Lexie, Kristen and Allie in an entry coming this Friday that I’m calling simply:

• Friday’s Letter to My Daughters.