Variations of the expression "the pen is mightier than the sword" can be traced to before the birth of Christ.
While there’s no doubting the power of swords, semi-automatic weapons and nuclear bombs, there is no resisting the impact of an idea whose time has come.
Consider the inspiring link forged between scores of Comox Valley schoolchildren and a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter named Jesse Ruben.
Ruben recounted his recent visit to the Comox Valley in a blog he titled “My Trip to Canada (and why I'm not the same person I was a week ago).”
Puntledge teacher Doug David found Ruben's song We Can and the school adopted it as their theme for their I Can project in which students try to make the world a better place. Teacher Jen Turner invited Ruben to visit.
“I travelled for 14 hours on three planes and landed in an airport the size of a McDonald's, and when I got there, there were 200 kids and parents and teachers waiting for me with signs and posters,” Ruben blogged.
He said he met “literally thousands of kids and parents and teachers who thanked me for inspiring their town. I was on the front page of the paper (the Record), on the news, and on the radio.”
The blog includes a series of photos depicting the rock-star reception Ruben received at the airport and Comox Valley schools.
One photo shows a young girl wearing traditional K’ómoks garb, giving Ruben’s fans a glimpse of a world that to them must be utterly alien.
Other pictures display student artwork sparked by the inspirational theme of Ruben’s song.
“Sometimes life hands you an experience so breathtaking all you can do is look around in awe and hope to take in as much as you can before it’s over,” writes a clearly overwhelmed Ruben.
See his blog at http://jesserubenmusic.tumblr.com/post/41185688386.
And never doubt the power of an idea whose time has come.
editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com