Silence is safety, and ignorance is bliss

Secrets secure friendships is what I’ve been told

been hated by many going against this mold

pressured into compromising my morals

“snitches get stiches” and “no one likes a tattletale”

I take a hesitant step back

I tell no one what I see about you on Twitter

Every time he treats you like that, I stifle a gasp

There’s no explanation from me why you wear long sleeves in the summer heat

I sacrifice weeks of sleep to help maintain your oh so important rep

Repressing unexplainable guilt telling myself how “good of a friend” I’m being

A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts

Your parents

Requesting me not to speak to you, but about you

Collapsing to the floor in utter disbelief

I can open my mouth now, but I’m too late

If I could go back I would get you what you needed

Exchanging your comfort for your health

Tell you that snitches may get stiches but silence bleeds out

If I could go back I would “snitch,”

But now it’s too late

I can’t change the past, but I can create the future

Remember that whatever happens now is not the end

Silence is a bully, and a snitch is your friend

It is so easy to sit back and say nothing in the face of someone else’s problem, but is “silence golden?”  Being a teenager is already confusing enough, but trying to discern what stays between friends and what needs a second more “mature” opinion. There is also a common fear amongst youth about not wanting to stand up and have an opinion on controversial issues, which raises the question “what is worth speaking up for?”  There are so many viewpoints in the world that a lot of the time picking a side on an issue is near impossible. I hope by the end of this article you gain enough confidence to stand for something and to speak out on injustices and things you are passionate about.

I use to take karate. When I was first starting out I remember I was so excited to learn how to beat someone up, but to my surprise I learned that I was going to have to go through what at the time seemed boring life lessons. My sensei would make us do this stance where we would have to squat down and dig our toes into the carpet. To test if we were doing the form correctly, he would come around and poke our sides and kick our calves. For the first several times, I fell down.  Several falls and bruises later I realized something: in order to stay up, I needed to be grounded in my stance and intentional on not moving.  What do martial arts have to do with politics, social injustice, and moral codes? The positive consequences of speaking up and standing for something are just as intense as the negative repercussions of staying silent in the background of society.   If you don’t stand firm on something with an intentionality of sticking to what you believe, the world will be quick to take you and sweep you up in the mass indoctrination of political correctness on things that you may not agree with until you become accustomed and desensitized to the things of this world that originally mattered to you. Young people buy into the lie that they don’t need to be aware of the world and the news around them because it’s “boring” or because “it doesn’t directly affect them,”   But let me be clear: The world of today will be yours tomorrow, so you need to be aware of the things that are making up the place you will eventually go out into.

So now that you know the importance of standing for something, it is important to discern what you personally should be passionate about and what needs your voice in the world. Taking a split second to look up from twitter and Pokémon Go are essential steps in making our country a positive place. It’s not that difficult to see the wrong in the world and the things that need tweaking or drastic remodeling. Things like racism, sexism, and class system discrimination that you would think would be resolved by now are still prevalent topics same as newer issues such as ‘Black Lives Matter,’ homophobia, and boarder control. As a disclaimer, it is also important to note that the preconceived notions and naturally ingrained biases you have, that you feel and are entitled to, may not be expressed in the healthiest ways. For example, there are people I know who disagree with my pro marriage equality mindset. Is it wrong to believe that traditional marriage is the only type of union that should be recognized under the constitution? No, of course some people have strong religious convictions that lead them to be against gay marriage and some may take a stance that believes that partnership’s only function is procreation, which is logical. However, in my life time I’ve seen this issue be taken to inappropriate lengths. Once the argument went from and opinion on the definition of marriage to a platform for certain groups to manipulate their so called religious beliefs to spew hate speech and derogatory name calling, the issue transitioned from a harmless stating of opinion to a bigoted endless battle that still goes on today.

What you speak for and what you stand on is a defining character in the essence of who you are. Whether you stand for fighting against world hunger and human trafficking or standing against school districts that prohibit the reading of books that contain “mature and unnerving” subject matter or work places who won’t install ramps for wheelchair access, finding those things that you feel need an extra voice or vote are crucial to your development as a human being and fundamental to your contribution to society. So find those things to be passionate about, because the world needs all hands on deck to fix today’s problems and your voice matters so speak up, speak loud, and speak until someone hears you.