Speak up, make a difference

“Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.” ~Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

American author Henry David Thoreau wasn’t afraid to speak out. Staying silent in the face of injustice was an act of compliance, he believed. Thoreau campaigned against slavery and also served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a venture that put him at personal risk. A born naturalist, he paved the way for American environmentalists to protect our natural resources.

Thoreau’s courage has motivated me since my college years. And I thought of him again earlier this month when I toyed with the idea of sharing my own political writings on Substack. Working on my first drafts, I remembered the three things most of us fear when we get nervous about speaking our minds in public or putting our truth in writing: We fear being judged by others; we fear getting rejected by others; and we fear being in conflict with others. Writers like Thoreau prove that we can make a difference if we push past those fears.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed my first weeks on Substack. I’m grateful to have found a civil, friendly community in which to express ideas and opinions — and a safe place to share another part of my writing life.

If you have a cause you believe in — whether it’s healthcare, animal welfare, or a social injustice — don’t sit in silence, or complain that others aren’t fixing what’s broken. Raise your own voice and help make a difference in your community. As Thoreau reminds us, “Be not simply good, be good for something.” ~CL