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The Power of Books
Writing is a marvelous invention. It allows us to pass information from generations to another. Information that are momentous, chronicles and legends. Information that are life-saving, life-changing, world-changing. Information that can mean the very survival of the human race.
Yes, indeed they are. These are not exaggerations. Packages that carry secrets untold nor vital information. Many learned how powerful these information is when written. Languages, medicines, history, records, legends, mysteries, secrets, all can be turned into written information.
These written information, known as books, passes down vital information to our descendants. Some are good, some are not, some can be either, depending on who reads the contents. Books are not just written fiction or/and non-fiction, relaxing or arduous, the bound sheets of paper you buy from a bookstore. They can be short and long, thin and thick, made out of any material, even written down by the famous “Invisible Inks” (Writings made out of lemon juice, milk, and others will show up if the paper is slightly burned). They can get so vital, lives can be seconded in order to obtain it, or erase it from existence or to sell it. How much would people sacrifice in order to obtain the books of the famous Archives, the collection of secrets and records beneath Vatican City! How much they would sacrifice to get military records for a nation! Some books can obsess people, some books can change the very concepts and perspective of entire nations, the world, even!
All over history there has been evidence of how much people are afraid of books, even kings and ministers. For example, take a look at the Bible. Throughout the ages, Bibles are banned, forbidden, burned, purged, and their owners persecuted. And not just the Bible. Some others were also treated the same. Why is this so?
Why books are so feared is because they can influence people. It does not matter who read it, a book will leave trails of it in a person, no matter how slight. Even a president, like President Obama of the United States, are subject to influence. A man with thousands of trillions of dollars at his fingertips can be affected the same way by a book as an ordinary commoner in a suburbs apartment.
Take a look at Rick Warrens’s the Purpose Driven. It is a very famous book. Tens of millions of copies are sold. That means easily a hundred million people can be affected by his writings, given a purpose for their lives. Look at bestselling books, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson Series, or Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, or the make-believe characters in Disney, or Steven King’s Matthew Reilly’s, (They’re all my favorites, but you can do with yours) and so many others; the books some of the greatest authors of the decade wrote. They reflect upon the world and wrote stories. They gave their opinions and observations. Writing a book needs bravery. To be noticed by the world is not an easy thing to deal with.
They inspire. They change. For better, and sometimes for worse. Books are a potent force in this Universe, electronically or printed, they are what moulds people.
Moze Simanjuntak, 13 years old, 8th Grader at BPK Penabur International School, Gading Serpong.