Silence…. Such a glorified word in literature.
Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence”. (1)
Thomas Carlyle said, “Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden”. (2)
But, is it really true? Is Silence really a strength?
My personal opinion says “No.” Silence is a weakness. In today’s world, you get continuously hurt if you are always silent.
A person who is forever silent is definitely a wise person. They choose to be silent instead of speaking to protect peace. They remain silent for the greater good of the people around them. They are being selfless and care too much about the world they live in. They try to protect the fragile human relationships by staying silent. They try to be greater and better humans in the process.
But what is the point of all this silence? Yes, the world is better. The world is peaceful. The world is happy. The relationships are saved. But what about the person practicing silence? Who cares about their peace and happiness?
In the process of staying silent, this selfless person keeps getting hurt. Their self-respect is hurt, their feelings are hurt, the relationships saved could be toxic for them causing stress and unhappiness, their heart and soul is in turmoil. And it all stays within. Because they chose to stay SILENT.
Nobody really cares about such people, otherwise they would not always be silent. Sometimes silence becomes a habit, even a forced habit. The person who stays silent is perceived as a weakling. People keep hurting them because they know there will never be a word said, never a tear shed, never the truth revealed. People keep abusing them, taunting them, hurting them, because they know that this person will always remain silent and not retaliate. The Silent person will keep tolerating everything, for the better interests of the world, even if it causes deep wounds in their hearts and souls.
If one day this forever Silent person manages to express dissent at the mistreatment, if this forever Silent person manages to express the hurt and unhappiness they are experiencing, they are quickly judged as the Villains. How dare the Silent person raise a voice? They are expected to stay silent and so they have no right to object to anything. That is how the world is. Rebellious people are expected to rebel. So there is nothing wrong with their rebelling. They are never criticized for that. But when a tame person rebels, all hell breaks loose. How dare they change their expected behavior pattern? Change is not welcome. They better stay tame, they better stay silent. They are not humans, they have no right to express their feelings of hurt. They only have the responsibility of maintaining silence.
Responsibility…. Why the Silent person is only considered responsible to maintain peace and happiness? Why it is not the responsibility of the person who always causes trouble? Why is it that their troublesome behavior is an accepted norm and not looked down upon but the occasional words spoken by a normally Silent person treated as evil? Why does a Silent person not have a right to express their pains? Why a Silent person resorts to bottling up the pains deep in their hearts? Why the Silent person has to shed those heavy tears alone in the dark of the night when the world is sleeping or in the rain or showers where nobody can see those tears? Why their pillows are always wet and salty with those secret tears? Who gives the world a right to torment the Silent person just because they decided to stay silent voluntarily to avoid distress to the world? Who gives the world a right to emotionally torture the Silent person and restrict their freedom of speech by hurting them even more when they express their pains?
What do you think? Should the Silent person become selfish for once and seek their own happiness and peace of mind? Should the Silent person stop being silent and fight for their rights to equal treatment? Should the Silent person make way for themselves in the world on their own? Should the Silent person try to heal the deep wounds inflicted on their heart and soul? Or, should the Silent person remain SILENT and let the status quo remain?
Do share your views in the comments section below. If you like this blog, do click on like, share and subscribe.
References:
Richa's Blog 
Very well depicted Richa! In my view, the silent person should not remain so as in the long run, it is mostly not a beneficial situation for all the stakeholders. Remember, extreme of anything is bad, hence silence beyond a point is also harmful.
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Thanks for sharing your views. I think I agree with you too.
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I agree with what is said. But with my point of view, it is the silent person who chooses to remain silent,where he might have fought against all odds. It is the society that makes that person so. A big so called “WHAT IF… ” Definitely it is not a right behavior, which in the end harms everyone.
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Thanks. Yes. Society and our consideration of what the society thinks definitely harm all our decisions and behavioral patterns to a large extent.
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Well articulated.. Life is a constant challenge of choosing among your options. The person who opts to remain silent does so with an intention that he will be able to get rid of the nuisance or avoid hurting those who matter the most. But unfortunately that is often assumed to be a sign of weakness and people take advantage of one’s humble nature.Therefore I believe it is essential to identify those who matter the most (for whom one doesn’t mind getting exploited) and practice Tit for Tat with all others.
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True. But sometimes to avoid hurting the most important person, you have to tolerate the collateral people also. That’s the bitter fact.
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Hmm yeah.. We can just try to minimize that collateral population
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