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| Dear Vita |
Note: This is an old personal musing I found on my phone from years ago. Sharing it because it’s still relevant.
When I graduated and started working I remember people cautioned me to tone down my voice. They told me that I should be cautious because not everyone will get my sentiments and opinions.
At that time, I am an adult already and I can no longer express opinions without consequences. And as someone who was a tendency to please people by being a goody-two-shoes and at the same time a regular volunteer for various human rights and environmental causes, I got confused. What side am I going to be on?
Some people said that I should not meddle with social issues that are too much to handle, too much blood, and too much violence.
It’s puzzling.
Is this how life works? Is this the reason why older generations are tiptoeing life? Is this how it should be?
I had so many questions. But the hardest question I ever asked myself was... Am I going to love the person that I'll become if I choose to listen to these voices?
Am I going to be the kind of person that I hate? Snob and privileged.
The privileged are deaf to the cry of the masses, blind to the injustices in front of them, and shy away from issues they don't find beneficial for them. They are not oppressed so they choose to be silent.
I communicate with other people for a living. I have to make them trust me and my work. I was taught to make them love me and that means curating my voice in a way that can't hurt anyone, liberals or conservatives. But if I stay that way, how can I help give the less privileged the chance to be heard? They say don’t hurt the liberals or the conservatives, but how can I do that when I know that people are already hurting as they fight?
I was always a 'cause-based' basher, if you see me rant or give off my two cents it’s mainly because I see wrong or something wrong was done against a cause that I believe in.
The problem with people is their will to be right, to prove to the other party that they are the ones with the right answer. In doing so, the people who are affected by the cause that they are fighting over are the ones who are suffering. They are torn between two parties who can’t meet towards the right spot.
I believe in silver linings and grey areas, but if it means being silent to appease both parties then I will walk away from that safe area. If staying silent means neglecting my beliefs and the minority that that cause is rallying for, then I will walk away from safety.
If I turn blind to the suffering of the marginalized and the oppressed then what separates me from being the abuser?
Getting things done to help the oppressed is a collective effort from everyone and we are privileged enough to speak up and help, so do it.
Do not be the person who is privileged enough and refuse to see the bad things around them just because they can and chose to.
Be involved and be part of the answer the next generation needs so they can have a better life.