I'm the kind of person who likes to know stuff.
I'm also the kind of person who likes to speak up on things, particularly if there seems to be an issue of justice at stake. And I've expected others to do the same.
But recently I've been wondering - is it really possible for me to know enough about (*choose from any number of major current issues) to have an opinion worth sharing?
Perhaps my thoughts, as well-meaning as they might be, just add to the noise rather than contributing to the light.
As important as I think it is to care, there are times when we all need to take a step back and say "This is actually really complicated and I don't know all the details. I think I might be swimming outside my lane if I pretend that I do."
While 'speaking up' is not an issue for many people, others genuinely feel concerned that in maintaining silence we'll appear either apathetic, ignorant or 'on the side of the oppressor'.
What happens if we choose not to speak? Won't the issue go unnoticed? Aren't these things too important for us to stay quiet?
I was going to write a blog about this but then I found this one which I think says everything I could possibly have wanted to explore.
I hope you find it helpful! My fave part of the blog:
"Research shows we exist in a state of constant overexposure, to people, problems, and issues. This means our ability to empathize or care about something (long enough to form an opinion about it), is compromised, as we choose to preserve some semblance of energy for our routine lives.
Between work and family, the average person probably has time to care about one or two more things before they reach maximum emotional and mental capacity. This could be climate change, Islamophobia, queer rights, the democratization of education, or casteism (or a thousand other things).
But for that one individual’s care and opinion to matter, it cannot encompass all of these things at once, simply because humans are not programmed to care about everything all the time, especially if the issue doesn’t hit close to home.
In real life, this balances out — human beings coming from different cultures and regions care about different things, express a desire to further different issues, especially in their own vicinity, negating the need for them to try and effect change somewhere far away."
Keen to hear your experiences and thoughts on this.
Also, if you've read this far, yes I'm aware that I'm sharing thoughts on a complex topic and possibly adding more noise instead of more light... but irony. It'll get ya every time :)
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