In today’s world, it sometimes feels like good people have gone quiet, drowned out by hate, anger, and negativity.

Many kind, compassionate people choose to avoid conflict, preferring instead to keep their opinions to themselves. It’s understandable. At times, disagreements can be tough and even destructive. And social media creates an echo chamber of conformity that shuts down the voices of dissent. But what’s happening to civil discourse as a result?

There is no doubt that silence can be a virtue in many circumstances. As the old adage says, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.” Still, similar reasoning can also lead to arguments about upholding values like social responsibility, justice, and equality. There are times when silence is not appropriate.

In a world that seems increasingly divided, good people are hesitant to speak up for fear of being misunderstood by, or even ostracized from, their peers. They may not speak out about social issues because doing so could result in criticism, and they are worried about negative consequences. There are many factors, but mostly because of safety, avoiding being ostracized, ridiculed, or targeted because of differing opinions, according to research conducted by Maia Szalavitz.

For instance, the crimes of hate or prejudicial language leveled against religious and minority groups are in concomitant to what societal status holds “politically” correct debate-stitching. Speaking out against prejudice and hate is perceived as a political belief instead of a fact shared here in society. In a lot of ways, discourse has been reduced to personalities bringing opinions separate from experience or tangible fact; leading ahead of the discourse is how partisanship runs all intellectual discussions lately.

Moreover, although silence can prevent you from making mistakes, it can also prevent you from communicating your thoughts and ideas, engaging in discussion, and progressing society. People navigate their opinions mostly through their chosen echo chambers, preferring to participate in solely one-typed information consumption than deliberate review and active listening in different viewpoints. Consequently, this practice diminishes the role of constructive conversation, leaving the minority voice of society unrepresented.

It is crucial to improve society’s discourse, where we value conversations. Of course, by this responsibility, all members should participate explicitly by this. People must hold themselves accountable and communicate respectfully to resolve tensions. Organizations must ensure they hire staff from varying opinions, backgrounds, and cultures to stimulate essential yet broader conversations about any issue discussions on the table.

When you feel that your opinions and voices might carry negative attention, it would not take so discernment as to how people raised in silence can hold back the silent. What is more important than the perfect opinion on the face is promoting intellectual creativity, compassion, and the confidence to promote change.

Therefore, encouraging conversations upon differing topics, accepting the remaining portions of views regardless of beliefs or values held, sourcing encouraging and engaging different informational sources, and finding healthy outlets that build political characters devoid of partisanship are potential ways to enhance discourse from society’s depths in promoting a healthier civic space.

It’s just as important to stand up and join voices when the situation calls for it; allowing anyone in society at large would support building together a better reality.

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