By: Miguel Padilla
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Though Martin Luther King Jr’s words can travel far through time, they often crash at people’s ears. January 20th—a day to celebrate King’s triumph for civil rights, coincided with a triumph for the far right.
They celebrated with Nazi salutes.
Those who didn’t tried to justify the ones who did.
While January 20th was meant to celebrate triumph over racial adversity, programs meant to combat the lingering effects of that very adversity were abolished.
But don’t feel disheartened.
King was right. Why should we desire a world where we sit in silence when adversity comes? The words of our enemies should empower us to question, debate, and advocate—not drown our voice.
The far right is far wrong. It is far too wrong to crush programs meant to help citizens climb the social ladder. It is far too wrong to pull out of agreements to protect the Earth to turn billions of dollars into hundreds of billions. It is far too wrong to reverse medical benefits.
But it is far too wrong to do nothing. It is far too wrong to not publicly question authority. It is far too wrong to recognize the problem and keep it in your head.
Don’t think. Act.
Thoughts and prayers mean nothing if they’ve been thought and prayed for thousands of years without change. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes—so we break the evil poet’s flow.
Life will get better, but only if we allow it.