‘Be a voice and not an echo.’ I don’t know where I read this
but it’s stuck with me pretty much all of my life and having my say has become
something of a necessity for my well-being. Perhaps that’s why I don’t really do
politics or religion; I don’t want to simply echo somebody else’s view without
thinking it through from my own unique and, at least to me, precious
perspective.
As I child it seems that I was always being told to be
quiet, to shut up, to be seen and not heard, and for a while fear kept me
quiet. Not for long though, I soon realised that if I didn’t have a voice I’d
be nothing more that an echo and echoes fade away quite quickly. So instead I
took the blows, as Sinatra would say, and since that time I’ve made it a
principle to tell people what I think even though it can be uncomfortable and
risky at times. Over the years I’ve lost count of the number of times I have
sat in meetings unable to bite my tongue.
These days I mainly voice my thoughts through my blog and
Facebook, which can also be a little dangerous. Sometimes I know I appear to be
completely off my trolley and I also know that I’ve upset people occasionally
with my posts. Whatever I say though I try to make sure that it’s contains some
clarity, reflects my beliefs and opinions, and is honest. I even try to include
a little humour where I can.
Of course one man’s honesty is another’s insult and truth,
as we all know, can be a bitter pill to swallow. But it has become very
important to me to be able to say what I feel, believe, and (most importantly)
want to say, without someone telling me to be quiet, shut up, stop talking
rubbish, or that I’m being insensitive or offensive. Humour is another matter;
my funny can be pretty dry, and I can easily understand how a lot of people
don’t get it. Although it doesn’t stop Eddie Izzard do it? Maybe I should put a
little (h) as a warning when I’m being funny for the humourously challenged out
there.
You see one man’s rubbish is another’s wisdom and like truth
that can be another bitter pill to accept. Similarly it takes quite a lot for
me to take offence and I really don’t believe that you have to say nothing in
order to be sensitive. I say what I think, write what I want based around my
experience of my world (my real world no less), and won’t shut up when I’m told
to. Why should I? I have the right to my voice whether you approve or not, just
as you have yours if you care to use it.
Over the years this has got me quite a lot of trouble but at
the same time I believe that it has been key to whatever small achievements I
may have made. Expressing myself, regardless of what people think, is something
I am driven to do. I’d be no good at all in Iraq
or North Korea (or alive);
even America
was a little bit of a struggle. I have to have my say; it’s a kind Tourettes,
except I’m controlling it and not the other way around – at least sometimes.
Thank God I live in a country where freedom of speech is
still given at least a passing nod, although I worry that increasingly the
government and police try to dumb us all down and make our views as vanilla as
possible. Or is that simply paranoia?
Well, it does run in the family.
Without wishing to offend anybody in particular: at least
I’ve had my say and you can lump it or like it, I really don’t care. If you
don’t like what I say then feel free not to read or unfriend me if you want,
I’ll survive. You see you can only change my mind by presenting me with new
information that I agree with – and if you can’t do that, then I really don’t
need you to listen and I don’t have to fucking listen to you (h).
