To Speak-Up or Be Silent

Is it rather fair to be silent when you need to speak up? That is what I heard a father of one of my friends tell him. A direct opposite of what we were told in school. My teachers would be like, speak up and never allow anyone to tell you to be silent for any reason whatsoever. 

Well, I have a different idea about this whole thing. It is already a known fact that the mouth is one of the greatest weapons of all time. With the mouth, words of the mouth can either make or mar a situation. Hence, I would use my mouth as a weapon to fix any situation that I come in contact with. 

As well as you may mean well during a talking session, you may be seen as being biased in what you choose to say. So, while considering sharing an idea, always ensure to add that the saying is what you perceived. It may not be what someone else thinks. If you will be fair enough in your wording, other factors like culture and individual differences must be duly considered. 

This goes to say that our learning or learned theorems may not follow the same procedures but may end up in the same results. Hence, we should know that in the end, the procedure will not matter but the result. 

A policeman who comes to arrest an accused or alleged criminal would say:

You have the right to remain silent or whatever you say will be used against you in the law court.

It could be two-faceted illustrations. Asking someone who may not be a criminal in the end to keep quiet is like snapping his or her fundamental human rights from him. Every human has the right to the freedom of speech and asking an accused to keep quiet is just one way to cheat him if you asked me. 

 From the other angle, keeping quiet at a time when one needs to speak up may be detrimental.  

Silence at the other side seems to be the best and most suitable answer to many life situations. Many people find medicine, peace and solace in keeping their mouths shut. The saying that "many things are better left unheard than said" fully explains it. I feel like the power of the tongue has marred relationships, life plans, and many schemes that could change the world and individuals. Silence is one of the best means of keeping a secret a secret. 

In this side of the world, where superstition supersedes original facts, learning to lock the tongue is the actual way to ensure your individual growth. As a typical African man, if you are planning on going abroad you should let no one be aware, especially your Umunna (your relatives especially from your father's side) because it is believed that they can destroy your plans by using juju or wrap your picture with a red cloth and throw it into a bottomless sea. The same goes for unraveling your plans of success to your friends for you fear that they might poison your drink a day to the day you attain it. Why not keep silent while you plan then when you attain your success, BOOM! You can speak about it. 

In my opinion, too, speaking up has its vital importance forgetting the fact that it boosts your self-esteem (everyone knows that already). Speaking up has brought to light stories that have been swept under the rug. Let's take, for instance, the Facebook influencer and Vlogger, Lucky Udu who has taken it upon himself to speak for people. Speaking is like releasing a burden on your head and chest. Like letting oceans roll out of a jar, letting the walls of the problem crumble by speaking a few words. 

Silence and speaking go hand in hand and in my opinion, humans have this opportunity and power to have the sense of when to use it, how to use it and when not to use it. 

Too much silence kills slower and deadlier and more painful than poison.

And the ability not to control the power of the tongue kills faster than you can ever imagine, even before you notice it.

You have the power. Use it wisely. 

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First Published Here