What does it mean to say that "the pen is mightier than the sword?"

This quote is the reason why we have freedom of the
press.  It is saying that words (the pen) are more important than weapons (the sword) in
creating changes in the world.

To understand why this is,
just look at what has happened in Egypt lately.  There, words have proven to be much
more important than weapons.  We have seen protestors come together, drawn by "the
pen."  They have been drawn together by word of mouth, by social networking, and by the
media.  They have been drawn together because they believe in an idea--the idea of
freedom.  All of these are things of "the pen."

Against
them, you had the Mubarak government.  The government had all the power--they had the
tanks and the guns and the protestors did not.  But the power of ideas overcame the
power of the weapons and the side with all the weapons ended up
losing.

So, when you hear that the pen is mightier than the
sword, it means that words and ideas are more important than force--more able to change
the world.