If We Never Speak Our Mind, Book of Essays

“If we never speak our minds, we will never know what it is to have a voice that is heard. In our nation, opinions, and thoughts do not always come from the wisdom of a great mind, celebrity, or statesmen. A small mind is where we often find the greatest of wisdom unclouded by the importance of being someone in the world. When it comes to injustice, it is often an injustice against the weakest among us. It is not the wealthiest or the mightiest who cries foul play, but the man, women or child who suffers the arrows of injustice when it comes to racism, poverty, the uneducated. Their voice is often the weakest among the crowd. Their voice will remain weak as long as, they never speak their mind and raise that voice to a level all can hear. A small mind is where we often find the greatest wisdom unclouded by the importance of being someone in the world. Through the eyes of a child have we hear the cries of the hungry, the abused, and the ignored. That child if not heard grows up to be afraid to speak up, to stand up for justice in a world of injustice. If the adults around them do not speak for that child that child learns that their voice is unimportant.
If we never speak our minds, we will never know what it is like to have a voice that is heard. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. Racism cannot be erased if we keep our minds closed and our mouths shut. Injustice will continue if we fail to speak up against it. Political corruption in the world will continue if we fail to exercise the function of our vocal cords that our minds and hearts control. If we never speak our minds, we will never know what it is to have a voice that is heard around the world when it comes to bringing awareness of climate control and how our silence is killing this world. A small mind isn’t a weak mind but a mind that is unfretted by bias, or the importance of being someone in the world. We do not need to be a celebrity to be heard. We do not need to be an elected official to be heard. We do not need to be the Dalai Lama, or the Pope to be heard. Our vocal cords are the same as there’s, our mind is the same biological organ created by God. It is not the color of our skin that gives us a voice. It is not the wealth in our vault that makes a voice greater than the poorest being on earth. Wisdom comes not from being educated, or wealthy, or believing the color of our skin makes us superior to others. It is our voice. Fail to use that voice, and you fail to be heard. Violence achieves only one thing. It mutes the value of that voice. It was once said by Teddy Roosevelt our 26th President of the United states ‘Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” If you do not speak your mind, if you do not give voice to how much you care, nobody will care about how much you know. Mark Twain said, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” As wise as Mark Twain was, far too many people today, do not want you to open your mouth. They want you to remain fools, and your silence removes all doubt in their minds that you are fools as long as you remain silent to injustice, racism, climate control, and political corruption. If we never speak our minds, you will never know what it is to have voice that is heard.