FALL 2010Chloe Patrick
Friends School Mullica HillSilence – the absence of sound or speech. Silence can be powerful just as it can be weak. It can be an act of remembrance or an act of resignation. As one of the most versatile things, it is often difficult to read the silence of others. Are they being silent in agreement? Or is their silence a response to anger or sadness? The only real way to determine the silence of others is by recognizing the situation around it.
One of the most common situations is the following: You're with a group of friends. Everything if fine until the group singles someone out and starts making fun of them. You stand there silently; unsure whether to stand up for the person whom the group is clearly hurting, or to stay silent. The right answer is obvious, but somehow you can't bring yourself to execute it. What, you wonder, is holding you back from doing the right thing? Are you afraid that by speaking against the group you will become the next target? Or are you unsure of what to say? You continue to analyze the situation until it has passed, and you have lost your opportunity to stand up for what is right.
Now, feelings of guilt and regret burn in your chest. You also feel resentment towards the group for ever starting this in the first place. All these feelings come together and you wind up unhappy with everyone, including yourself.
We all have been in this position before. In the span of a few seconds, you have to make the decision whether or not to stand up for someone, and act on that decision.
It is very important to stand up for what we believe in and what is right. Being silent when someone makes fun of someone else is just as bad as making fun of them. When you just stand there and say nothing, it seems like a silent agreement to whatever is being said.
I was always a shy child. I didn't talk a lot, and when I did it was to my friends or teachers. I liked to keep to myself and was never thought of as brave. In 5th grade, a few kids in the class started picking on one of my friends. It was subtle, but enough to upset her. I noticed how their words hurt her and wanted to do something about it. One day I heard one of the kids who had started the tormenting say something about my friend to another kid. I said, "Stop making fun of her! You're being so mean." They seemed surprised and a little taken aback that one of the quietest girls in the class had stood up to them.
As I walked away from them, my heart pounding in my chest, I felt proud. I had stood up for what was right. Those kids never talked about my friend in front of me again. I know that I didn't completely solve the problem (although eventually it did stop), but I had helped it. I had put my thought into the situation so I wasn't just a stray opinion that could be grouped together with either belief. I had made my beliefs very clear and felt good about myself.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
This famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr. is very important. It is saying that you need to stand up for what you believe in. If you don't, the things you believe in won't matter much. If you don't have something to believe in, your life becomes meaningless.
I believed that what the people in my class were saying to my friend was mean so I stood up for my belief. Although I was nervous, I was able to put my beliefs before my fear and stand up for them. I am very glad that I made this choice. From that point in my life I began to stand up for people and my beliefs.
Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand for what was right throughout his whole life. He was knocked down continuously, but he never gave up his fight. He is a big inspiration to me and many others, especially when it comes to speaking out about what is right.
[This essay is the first-prize winner in the Helen Glass Essay for Peace contest, which is held annually at Friends School Mullica Hill and is sponsored by Mickleton and Mullica Hill Monthly Meetings. It is copyright © 2010 by Mickleton and Mullica Hill MMs.]
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Monday, September 06, 2010 at 06:18 PM
