The Message Comes First

Expression is a human trait. We use spoken and written language to communicate meaning. There are languages that exist around the world that entire nations share. There are other languages that only a handful of people know. And then there are abstract languages, such as those found in the arts. Music, visual, and movement arts all have internal languages that each artist uses to communicate meaning.

In music the languages of rhythm, melody, and harmony. In the visual arts, languages of color, composition, form, and line. In the movement arts, languages of the body (form), time, and space. All these are used to speak towards a particular thing, itself concrete or abstract.

Here’s the thing: languages, much like anything else, can be self-serving or they can be put into service. Consider which is more important: what words you use, or whether or not your message is received? I know the two are related, but they are not of equal value.

There is a fundamental cultural difference between a society that places priority value on the words or one that places priority on communication. The society that focuses on the words first will begin to devalue anyone who does to share a similar vocabulary. They will not be able to hear anyone who speaks differently. While the society who concentrates on the communication will consider everyone’s voice regardless of the language it is presented in. What is being said will matter more than how, or even who, is saying it. Having experienced the role of the outcast, I would much rather live in a culture that measures the message first, then the messenger.