Thursday, February 12, 2009

To Speak or Not to Speak


In case you had not noticed, I like to keep tabs on current events, I am political, and I get a little passionate at times and opinionated with a capital O. I sometimes wonder what the point is. Does simply knowing what is going on change anything? No. Does ranting about the injustices and railing about the stupidity cure any ills? No. Does informing others help at all? Maybe. I am often very surprised when I run into people who are ill informed about the issues that have a direct or indirect influence on their lives. I think to myself,"Do they not care? Do they not realise how important this is?" I firmly believe that we CAN make a difference if we channel an informed opinion in the right direction. I write letters, I comment on national blogs that deal with political issues, I write letters to the editor, I comment on news sites, and I have even written our Prime Minister a number of times. (I do not believe for one minute that he has read the letters, but the staff do keep tab of people's opinions and each voice represents many).
I truly realise what a privilege it is to live in a democracy and also realise that it does not work unless we speak out. By far the majority of folks will only do this via the ballot, but sadly there are many who do not even vote. Perhaps this is because there is not enough emphasis put on history in the education system.
I simply cannot keep my mouth shut and stay uninformed because when I do that, I become part of the problem. I do not know if I have ever made even a tiny difference, yet I will keep on voicing my opinion because as long as I do, I know for a certainty that at least I tried. Those who say and do nothing know for a certainty that any good changes that ever come about came without their help.

3 comments:

Susan said...

I'm thankful for those whom do speak up, and speak out. You are very articulate in your opinions and I enjoy reading your posts. Keep up the good work :)

On This Rock said...

I would agree with Susan. I agree that it is important to speak out, as there is "the power of one!" in systems. We don't always know the outcomes of what we do. Nor do we usually know the magnitude of influence that we can exert....not always mind you....but it is not predictable and so I would encourage you to continue. For certain, your posts often give cause for discussion in our household and that is a good thing.

Susan said...

Oh, by the way, I do have a new puppy, LOL. I plan to brag on him a bit in my posts next week. Actually, there was enough room in the dog house for my little pup to squeeze in with Charlie. Therefore, Charlie at least has some company, heehee.