What if you were prohibited from using any words not found on a 500-word list?

That is the premise of Patricia Forde’s, “The List,” a book I pulled off my child’s shelf this weekend. 

Forde writes of a post-apocalyptic world controlled by language, or rather, the lack of it. 

Words like hope, future, freedom, music, please, thank you, and even pineapple are not allowed. In an effort to control people, they control the language. Opinions are suppressed, objections are quieted, and new ideas never surface. Citizens of this dystopian society face banishment, or extermination, if caught using such words. 

It was no accident that words like hope, freedom, and future were removed from the language. These words feed the power of emotion, of passion, of purpose. 

Can you imagine living where language is limited? Sadly, some people can.

What a gift we have in our freedom to speak. What a gift to be able to tell our stories and history. What a gift we have in our ability to express our opinions.

FYI – I used 132 different words in this article and headline.