I have degrees in philosophy and religion. I have studied in depth what religious and philosophic leaders have written – none say ‘be silent.’ All say speak up, express yourself, do not be afraid. When we lose that ability to have a voice, we lose who we are as humans. If we stay silent we forget our power to challenge the society around us. We let others direct our lives. We set aside what also needs to be said. We fail our humanity.  

Dear Neighbor, 

Have you ever been told to ‘shut up?’ Raised in the South, I was often told not to ‘jabber’ so much. My mom would say ‘one day you will run out of words.’ As an adult the world is a bit nicer. Presently, I have been asked to just be quiet, be silent, settle down, try not to cause a scene or get arrested. 

My son asked me to ‘be careful’ when he found out I was going to a demonstration/protest against some of the policies our government was imposing on us. I must admit that I have felt safer demonstrating against the authoritarian dictator of Houdouras than I do now against our current regime in this country. My son respects my opinions, even though he disagrees with me. He probably didn’t realize he was saying to me, ‘dad you never know what could happen to you, or our present policies against free speech will endanger your life.’ I wanted to remind him that I have never tried to be safe. And when I marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. it was not safe then. The difference between now and the M.L.K. years is that back then people had the courage of their convictions and though afraid, never let fear rule them. We did not abandon our own. When there is true solidarity, one finds that love is stronger than fear. 

Being silent is immoral. Being silent is a mistake. Being silent is dangerous. Being silent is taking away my first amendment rights. Our silence means the mother who witnessed children being taken out of a building in Chicago, buck naked and arrested, is wrong. It means M.L.King Jr was wrong in writing a letter to the world about his racial arrest. It means we should be quiet when our immigrant neighbors are being abused. It means I will be willing to let democracy be challenged without a voice.

I have degrees in philosophy and religion. I have studied in depth what religious and philosophic leaders have written – none say ‘be silent.’ All say speak up, express yourself, do not be afraid. When we lose that ability to have a voice, we lose who we are as humans. If we stay silent we forget our power to challenge the society around us. We let others direct our lives. We set aside what also needs to be said. We fail our humanity.  

Others deserve a word also. We should not silence anyone. We should connect, link up, and engage our society. I am not always right, but I am not going to let others silence me for challenging their views.  

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.