There are times in our lives when we all feel vulnerable, especially when we live in a society that targets people who challenge the dominant culture, victimizes voices of dissent, and alienates diversity. There is a certain level of threat implied in our society that compels us to obey social norms. We don’t need the sheriff to force us to pay our bills; we know what will happen if we don’t. This is the police inside our head, the thing that stops us from taking action when nothing else is. It is the same fear that prevents journalists from publishing difficult truths even if there is no censor editing their stories. The same fear that stops the worker from speaking up against prejudice and unfair practices in their workplace. It is the fear that we are fighting against.
We cannot allow ourselves to become impotent from fear, or we are doing the work of the oppressor for them. The police don’t need to chain you up, if you have already silenced yourself. If you know that something is wrong, but say nothing, then you quietly allow it to happen, selfishly choosing self-preservation over social justice.
Fear is the greatest weapon for those who benefit from inequality, but we find the strength to resist in each other, knowing that together we can foster the courage to overcome this intimidation. Whether it is marginalized people standing up to police oppression or textile workers fighting to unionize, indigenous people defending their land or environmentalists protecting the earth from exploitation, there are thousands of people all over the world who are fighting in their own way each day. So go out there and find them! For the only necessity for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.