Nowadays, social media platforms, blogs, and other outlets illuminate the subject of the biggest life lessons to learn before turning 25 and the mistakes that should be avoided at all costs. Usually, the pieces of advice and the mistakes covered in such materials are shallow and tend to be similar. For example, people are encouraged to become more organized, read more books, and socialize more. Yet, many individuals forget about the one mistake that might lead to colossal consequences not only in one man’s life but the whole society. The biggest mistake a person can make is to stay silent, whether it is about standing up for oneself, one’s beliefs, friends, or justice.
The most powerful things in this world are words, and they have an immense effect on anyone’s life. On a smaller scale, silence can have a negative impact on the life of one person. This includes a myriad of situations, and one of them is remaining silent when it comes to their beliefs. In a world where people tend to follow a particular hierarchy and desire to fit in and not stand out in the crowd, it takes strength to speak up. Thus, such approach can be seen as the rebellion against the blind conformity and encouragement of others to not pay attention to judgement.
However, breaking silence can also be seen as a way to live one’s life as one desires. It takes strength for one person to go against the will of their parents regarding their major; it also takes strength to stand up for the child who is being bullied. At the end of the day, people do not remember the good parts but rather the negative situations where they wish they could do something differently. As a result, people regret that one day they did not say that someone’s words hurt their feelings, that they did not ask for a raise when they deserved it, or that they did not tell the person that they loved them.
Still, the mistake of remaining silent stretches well beyond the life of one individual and tends to have a butterfly effect on the entire nation. History indicates that silence in the face of injustice never leads to anything but pain and disappointment. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (UUA, 2020, para.1). The world people live in has never been perfect, nor will it ever be. However, this does not mean that every individual must give up on the idea of living in a community where their words and opinions matter and can lead to a change. The story of Martin Luther King Jr. can serve as a motivation to always speak up about the unfairness. While thousands of people were scared, King Jr. proved that nobody deserved to be mistreated, and the mistake of not breaking the silence can be much more detrimental than keeping their heads down and suffering.
Hence, silence is the worst enemy of anyone, and it is a mistake that might destroy not one life but the lives of many people in society. On a smaller scale, silence often leads to regret because people fail to express their true feelings or stand up for their beliefs. On a broader scale, silence leads to more injustice and evil. While the oppressed remain silent, oppressors do not have any desire to cease malicious actions. Yet, the power of words of people who stand together for a more significant cause leads to substantial transformations in society and drives the change.
Reference
UUA. (2020). Silent about things that matter. Unitarian Universalist Association. Web.