“Every day, all around us, we see the consequences of silence manifest themselves in the form of discrimination, violence, genocide and war.”
—
We all want to stand up for justice, for what is right. “But what can I do?” we ask ourselves. “I’m just one person.”
Some days, it’s just easier to mind our own business and keep our mouths shut.
But there’s a danger in silence.
Clint Smith explains why:
“Silence is the residue of fear … It is the sound after the noose is already tied. It is charring. It is chains. It is privilege. It is pain.”
Smith — teacher, poet, and doctoral candidate at Harvard University — admits to being silent in his own life:
“I spent so much of my life telling people the things they wanted to hear, instead of the things they needed to — told myself I wasn’t meant to be anyone’s conscience, because I still had to figure out being my own. So sometimes I just wouldn’t say anything, appeasing ignorance with my silence — unaware that validation doesn’t need words to endorse its existence.”
As Smith reminds us — from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s prophetic words:
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
It’s time for all of us to speak up. To speak our truth. To not be silent.
Where can you speak your truth today?
♦◊♦
#59: Mobile Laundry Van for Homeless << 100 Acts of Male Goodness >> #61: Malala’s Dad, Educator, and Fighter for Women’s Rights
Do you have an Act of Male Goodness to share? Or know someone who should be profiled in this series? Email Kristi Dale at [email protected] with “100 Acts of Male Goodness” in the subject line.
Photo: Clint Smith/Facebook