Given the current state of our country’s cultural climate, I think it’s a good time to share this short story. I hope it disturbs you greatly.
“When I was in seventh grade, our teacher put on a video for us to watch and asked us to take notes. Ten minutes in, she threw the lights on and shouted at Steven Webb Sladki, telling him he wasn’t taking notes and he should have been.
But the thing was, Steve was taking notes. I saw it, we all saw it. The teacher asked if anyone wanted to stand up for Steve. A few of us choked out some words of defense but we were immediately squashed.
Quickly, we were all very silent. Steve was sent to the principal’s office. The teacher came back in the room and said something like, ‘See how easy that was?’
We were reading ‘Anne Frank’. I started to understand.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that what you see with your own eyes isn’t happening.”
Author unknown
My fear is that for some of you, the message of this story will be but a blip on the screen of your daily activities…Do not allow yourself to slowly slide down the slippery slope of the dumbing-down of America.
Speak up! Don’t be silent when the human rights of others are being violated or when the human dignity of another is being demeaned or ridiculed.
Stand up! Demand that laws be followed (not innocent people). Be a person who interrupts injustice and prejudice when you see it, hypocrisy when you hear it, and ignorance when you experience it.
YOU matter. YOU make a difference and YOUR voice makes a difference.
Thank you to my good friend Sharon Larkins-Pederson for this short story.
Martha Borst :: Organizational Consultation and Coaching 