The Illusion Of Communicaton

Early in the use of the printing press
it was written by hand
that the pen is mightier than the sword,
because the pen multiplied the word,
and all weapons left was death and destruction.
And conflicts needed  the shield of propaganda.
Now the comparison is between the computer
and the gun, and whether a bullet or an email
both distance the recipient of the message
from the sender, sometimes with shocking finality.
What value should we place
on improving our misunderstanding of others better?