I wanted to address something that some or many of us may feel, that we are a lone voice and that our voice does not matter. I think it is easy for us to believe that our voice does not matter. A lot of us fall into the trap of thinking we are not qualified to speak out against the wrongs we see for a variety of reasons. I used to believe that too, I stated earlier that I was shy and non-confrontational, and I have never believed that anything I had to say was of any significance. We allow ourselves to believe that we are not experts, not educated enough, too insignificant, lack poise, or lack eloquence. I believe that this is a huge deception we have allowed ourselves to embrace, so we sit back and let the so called professionals, educated, and experts to speak instead.
It is my opinion that that sort of thinking needs to be sent back to the pit from which it sprang. Each of our voices are needed and indeed required to stand against the ills we see in our society. I know it is hard to come outside of our comfort zone to speak out, because again we are plagued with self-doubt and the “what if’s”. It is easy to wonder if what we say matters or if indeed anyone hears us. It stands to reason that we may think who would hear us from our living rooms or back porches because we don’t have a large stage to speak from. But the fact is, that every time we speak the truth in love to a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, our child’s teachers and coaches, our congress person, or the school board our voice is heard, now we may not see a result or we may not like the result we do see, but make no mistake that our voice is heard and the words do resonate.
I too am plagued by such doubts and fears that what I say and believe does not matter, even as I write this I wonder if anyone will read it and if they do will they think I am an ideologue or off my rocker. But to not speak is to allow the fear and self-doubt to win, and ultimately more evil to permeate our society. So I encourage each of you to speak with love and not just with words but with our deeds and actions. I believe that moms are uniquely qualified to speak out because our very nature is that of a caretaker. So don’t let fear keep your voice silent, your opinions and beliefs are important and you are not alone.