Laura Laroche
ENGW1101
Professor Young
3 March 2015
Essay 2
Broken Silence
 |
Dr. Martin Luther King
speaking to the public during
one of his famous speeches. (Crenshaw, Para. 1) |
There
is a time to be silent and a time where silence must be broken. Those times
depend on the situation itself, what is going on around, and if it is
appropriate to be silent or to speak up. Dr. Martin Luther King was an
inspirational man who once wrote a speech called “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to
Break Silence”. This speech was to make the world open its eyes, and realize
that it is time for someone, like King, to speak out, “we must speak” (King Para.
4), about the attacks on the citizens of Vietnam. King decided to be the voice
of the American citizens who could not speak when the attack was coming for
them as well. In King’s speech, he stands up for others to let them know that
he understands and wants to help. He spoke out to the world when it was needed
because no one else would. When violence or suffering becomes part of our
lives, it is necessary for someone to be brave, speak up, and break that
silence. If someone needs help but no one does anything about it, it becomes
appropriate to have a voice and reach out.
A
lot of people decide not to say anything because they believe that it is the
right thing to do, or because they do not know how to handle the situation and
allow other people to deal with it themselves. In that case, it shows that the
public can sometimes be seen as cowards, and not realize that without them
speaking out, a situation can go out of control. Breaking that silence should
not be seen as something horrifying but more of a helpful voice that the world
needs to hear. Without breaking the silence we will face the consequences that are
truly wrong, as Martin Luther King said, “If we do not act, we shall surely be
dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those
who possess power without compassion” (King Para. 12), those with more power
will always make bad decisions and we will never be able to stop them. This is
the reason why having a voice is important or else nothing right will be done.
People
all over the world have gone through rough changes where they were never able
to speak up because they simply did not know how. Those people needed that one
person to say something and reach out for them. They needed someone to listen
to their situation and break that silence to help them. King brings up how the
citizens of Vietnam were facing a time in need, where families were being
attacked, “We have destroyed their two most cherished institutions: the family
and the village” (King Para. 24), and no one did anything about it. King wanted
the American citizens to realize that what was happening needed to be stopped
because others were being tortured when they had nothing to do with the war. No
one should have to go through tortures because of their race or what their
country decides to do. Throughout history there were many times where certain
people suffered and were left there to survive on their own.
On
December 7th, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor
where the United States naval base was located. The attack was intended to keep
the United States from interfering with the military actions that the Japanese
had towards them. Because of this attack, many Americans were afraid for their
life, and decided that all Japanese were enemies, even Japanese-Americans who
had nothing to do with these actions. They constructed a concentration camp
base where about 120,000 Japanese-Americans residents were forced to live in
“regardless of loyalty or citizenship” (History.com Staff Para. 3) because they
were no longer trusted. Americans treated them so poorly that many could not
survive and died in the living conditions they faced. This was so unfair, and
wrong of America to do, “The relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment
camps during World War II was one of the most flagrant violations of civil
liberties in American history” (History.com Staff Para. 2), that no one at that
time spoke up to help the Japanese-Americans. The President and government of
America had such a big impact on their citizens that they thought what was
going on was right. Those Japanese-Americans needed that voice to save them
from a dark time but no one was there to break silence because they did not
know how or just because they did not want to.
King’s
Speech still has relevance today, “we are one of the most conflict-prone
nations in the past century” (Fischl Para. 2), we hear about other cruelty/starvation
going on around the world, even in our own country, and we always try to stay
out of their business, though we continue to speak about doing something but do
nothing. His speech helps us know that being silent all the time does not help
certain problems, like poverty, “the level of poverty in the nation changed
little between 1970 and 200 and is much worse now” (Edelman Para. 10). There
must be a person who is willing to speak up to reach out to others, to make the
public understand that being silent is not always the best way to go. Martin
Luther King wants us to be brave when times are tough and to have a voice to
express what everyone else feels. He expresses, “our own inner being may be
sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the
darkness that seems so close around us” (King Para. 4), that the voice will
lead the public in making better decisions, and to understand what is going on
around them.
Poverty
has consumed many countries, as well as America for many years. Many people
have little or even no work continuously that lead them in much worse predicaments
and tend to stay poor for generation after generation, “the percentage of
people in deep poverty has doubled since 1976” (Edelman Para. 13). Those that
face poverty need the silence to be broken once and for all because the
situation will never be fixed. We allow the government to handle this but have
yet to see a better outcome. If someone from the public decided to speak up for
once and showed all those who are wealthy that they need to help those who are
poor, there might be a huge decrease in poverty. But it could only be done by a
voice from the public. We must help each other to achieve greatness. We must
break silence for others to live a better life.
Breaking
Silence lets us speak out, let others know our opinions, and maybe choose a
different direction on certain situations. Usually those who speak out have a
reason to. Those reasons are caused by a serious outcome, like for instance the
Vietnam War. When there are serious problems going on around the world, and
what the country chooses to do is not right, that is when someone needs to say
something. Like how we face poverty everyday but the government has not done
anything about it, someone needs to say something to change that and get rid of
poverty. Saying what needs to be said puts a light on that problem and allows
the public to fight for a different outcome. We believe that if a government
decides to do something, we, the people, should never interfere because they
have higher authority. Like King states in his speech, “men do not easily
assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of
war” (King Para. 3), we are afraid to speak against the government’s policy and
choose to not say anything. But there comes a time where the government’s
actions are wrong and only the people can stop it by speaking up.
Overall
being silent, or choosing to break silence should never be seen as bad thing.
It is one’s decision to choose to say something or not. And of course there are
times that are better to keep quiet. No one should feel forced to say anything
if the time is not right. But Dr. Martin Luther King chose to have a voice that
will impact other’s thoughts; he believed that speaking out during the
beginning of the Vietnam War was definitely an appropriate time. His speech allowed
others to think and have a voice as well to lead the nation in a better
direction. Breaking silence is very necessary to help others in need in times
of suffering and violence, no one should be left behind.
Works Cited
Edelman, Peter. “The State of Poverty in
America.” Prospect.org. The American
Prospect. 22 June
2012. Web. 5 April 2015.
Fischl, Jack. “Martin Luther King Jr. 3
Powerful Speeches That Are Still Relevant Today.” Policy.Mic. Jack Fischl. 15 January 2013. Web. 4 April 2015.
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Beyond Vietnam:
A Time to Break Silence.” Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. Riverside
Church, New York City. 4 April 1967. Lecture.
Staff, History.com. “Japanese-American
Relocation.” History.com. A + E
Networks. 2009. Web. 4
April 2015.
