Unfortunately, not many of us escaped the wrath of a bully growing up. For many of us it was in elementary school, others high school, and for others still, into adulthood. Those of us who did still have the scars, emotionally or otherwise.
Today we live in a world dominated by a bully. A bully who doesn’t want our lunch money. Or for us to do his homework. No, this bully wants our silence. For his control. And like so many victims of years past, people are giving it over rather than fight back.
Remember the strategy of confronting a bully in your early years? Take a different route to school. Hang out with a different crowd. Maybe have your parents start driving you in. Or, in the worst case situation, transfer to another school. Those innocent victims, who chose not to stand up and fight probably never learned how to defend themselves. Who even today may have a difficult time standing up and speaking their mind. But each of them has a fighter inside them.
For those people, and for everyone else, it is not too late. Whether people are aware of it or not, we are facing one of the most dangerous bullies of all time. And entering a world with as many, or more concerns than at the start of World War II.
It is time for everyone to stand up against the bully. Don’t hear something said and then cower away. Speak up, state your mind and don’t back down. Your rights were given to you by people who fought and died many years ago when this country was started, and then again during many conflicts. To waste that right is shameful.
The only way to truly beat this bully is by speaking up. Speaking out. Acting out. In a manner in which you never thought possible. Our civil rights are being threatened. Free speech is being threatened.
Every person has the right to state their opinion. And to fight for what they believe in. If you allow the bullies to dominate the room, then eventually, there will be no place for you in that room. The answer is not to turn over your lunch money, or to do the other person’s term paper. And it’s not to move to another school, or to another country.
Bullies hate people that fight back. It makes their lives difficult. They prefer the people who just turn it over and they move on to the next victim. Until one day they turn a corner and there are a great number of people standing in front of them. That is how the bullying ends.
Seek out the people who share your emotions. Who share your opinions. Grow your numbers and let yourself be heard.
Write in to the papers. Put in op ed pieces. Order a bumper sticker (a good site is Make Bumper Stickers). Put out a lawn sign. Wear a tee shirt. But whatever you do, speak out. This is not alright. It won’t just pass. It is a big deal.
Make yourself be heard because you deserve to be heard.
Trapped in a Happy Life 