Silence is not the Answer

Over the last few months, political issues have exploded all over social media as well as news and comedy media.  While I certainly have problems with the bias of the information as it is presented, I prefer information that I am forced to read through very carefully over complete silence.

I have seen an alarmingly high number of people on social media who completely are ignoring the issues we face as a world, and even worse, are refusing to even talk about them.  This does nothing but maintain the status quo, for the loud fanatics who perpetrate problems in the world, have no problem speaking out.

Silence is exactly what trouble makers in the world want.  When we are willing to discuss and then question society, we are able to make a difference.  Due to bystander effect, one action can have a far greater impact on the world than it seems.

There are many stories told of the great tragedy known as the Holocaust, but one story that is rarely told due to the men and women who do not want us to question the world also control our upbringings, is the story of World War II Bulgaria.

There is an incredible story that happened here, one that modern day Bulgaria needs to remember as Antisemitism once again grips the country.  This story shows what is capable if just one person stands up for their beliefs and is equally vocal to the ravenous people who called for the genocide of an entire nation.

Bulgaria was conquered by the Nazis during the war, and like in all the nations the conquered, they called for Bulgaria to send all the Jews in the country to the death camps in their final solution. Unlike in every other country where most people remained silent out of fear of being harmed or helping save their friends from the shadows, one man, who happened to work for the King, but still one man, said no, stood up to his king, knowing that the statements he made would cause him to be executed and told the King of Bulgaria, that every Jew that he killed would be another part of his leadership being destroyed until he would have nothing left but shame.

Rather than kill the man, the King listened, and when he listened, so did the rest of the country.  As a unified front, the entire nation of Bulgaria stood between the Nazis and the destruction of the native Jews, calling in the streets that the Jews were also Bulgarians.  The Nazis did not have the ability to kill every single Bulgarian due to their resolve being called into question in the face of bravery.  Not a single Jew was killed in that country by the Nazis.

Stories like these about standing up for what we believe need to be shared.  By remaining silent, all we do is perpetrate the problems that make our world a difficult place to live.  In the wise words of George Carlin: "When we are able to talk about controversial issues at the dinner table, there will be change"

Do not perpetrate the issues in the world by refusing to talk about them.  This will only make these problems worse.  Silence in the face of problems is nothing more than acceptance for these same problems.