What do you stand for? Do you even know?
It strikes me as strange that although most people hold some pretty strong beliefs, few actually express them. Ask anybody in your social circle and you will find they are either pro or anti something quite fiercely. Actually, they may have views you don’t even know about because they believe that polite company does not speak religion, politics or human rights. I suppose that’s OK, but when things start to get real out there in the world, it would be nice to know where people draw the line. What would cause them to take action?
I wonder what would happen if the good people of the world spoke the hell up a little more? But we don’t do we?
We hear plenty from the misguided and the foolish. They carry signs, protest and come up with some pretty stunning versions of history and science. Flat earth? Seriously? It is so easy to mock and dismiss their campaign to take society backwards. We have the luxury of shaking our heads at the “crazies”, because we don’t think they can get anywhere with their agendas.
At some level many thinking intelligent and educated people used to truly believe that decisions are being made by governments, business and social leaders without bias. We believed that separation of church and state, fiscal responsibility and protections against corruption were being monitored and protected by somebody. We believed good people in positions of power are vigilant. Maybe that is why we don’t carry signs and protest so much as the people who wear foil hats to keep the Government from reading their thoughts.
It’s all starting to become quite alarming recently. What is the general public doing about all of this? Are they all taking to the streets? Are they filing class action lawsuits filed against the GOP and Fox news? Nope. The citizens of the world have taken to the internet and made memes. Really… It is still happening.
Canadians will riot about hockey at least, but Americans don’t seem to have a final line. I am pretty sure there are looming disasters well beyond the obvious, and yet we only get excited when they disembowel a character on Game of Thrones.
It is our default position to remain quiet even when faced with outrage. Even when it is happening right in our own village. Closer to home and hearth, we have seen relationships we know to be abusive, where women and children end up dead because nobody wanted to put themselves out there. We aren’t sure, we question our place, we wonder if we have it right before we speak.
We can’t all make signs and scream with outrage and cast spittle at passing cars. In fact the angriest people make the WORST protesters because they are easily dismissed as shrieking crazy people. The rest of us are simply afraid of confrontation and being uncomfortable. Instead of taking action the most we can do is leave passive aggressive notes about barking dogs and badly parked cars.
When the people with a calm perspective, an informed mind set and a logical worldview start to do more than comment on Reddit we will see change in the world. We must start close to home and step in when a friend is about to make a train wreck of their lives. It is your place, if you care. It is a cop out to think otherwise. Then, get involved, vote and and participate in the decisions being made in your community and country. If your nation is going off the rails on the crazy train, are you going to let yourself be taken along?
Think of this. A fourteen year old girl in Afghanistan who was raised in a society that teaches the dogma that women are chattel got shot in the head for going to school. She protested by simply going to class when she was threatened and told not to.
She is braver than anybody you or I know. She puts the rest of us to shame because she spoke up.