Ong- Orality

"Proverbs from all over the world are rich with observations about this overwhelmingly human phenomenon of speech in its native oral form, about its powers, its beauties, its dangers."
(Ong 9)

Reading something is a very powerful thing, but when you hear it, it becomes that much ore powerful. Speech, especially an oral tradition, in its native language is nothing less that fascinating. As Ong says, it really is powerful and beautiful at the same time. What I question is its danger. How is it dangerous? I had never thought of this before. Is it more dangerous to the world that it faces or is the world it faces more dangerous to the speech (in way of destruction)? Ong leaves me pondering the dangers and beauties of oral speech. The list it seems could be endless. I am left thinking that perhaps one of the dangers of orality and native speech is the simple fact that to many it is the "unknown", a mystery that if in another language we would more than likely not know what it was saying.