Note: The prompt for today is "bravery", which technically means acting without fear. Courage, on the other hand, means to act despite the fear. I have changed today's UULent prompt to courage, as I don't believe bravery applies here.
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Speak truth to power.
This is a phrase I learned from my experiences as a Quaker. Speaking truth to power answers wrongs with an appeal to right, answers violence with peace, answers degradation with dignity.
Speaking truth to power requires courage, because power can be used to fire someone from a job or turn others against them. Or to kill someone.
I think of a recent example of speaking truth to power, a very polarizing figure, Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick communicated his concerns about the mistreatment of black people in the US wordlessly, kneeling at the National Anthem. This set off a firestorm of criticism and ultimately got Kaepernick released from his contract and likely blacklisted from the NFL. It takes courage to speak one's truth with so much to lose.
People who speak truth to power are sometimes seen as heroes -- Martin Luther King, for example. Others, like Colin Kaepernick, are seen as disrespectful, foolish, or dangerous. These views often change depending on whether one agrees with the speaker.
What truth is worth dying for? I look at my heroes, who sacrificed to speak truth to power -- Martin Luther King, Colin Kaepernick, Karen Silkwood -- and I wonder if I have the courage to speak truth to power in a big way as they have.
Perhaps I am instead called to speak truth to power in a dozen small ways every day, which still takes courage. May I have the wisdom to choose the truth and the courage to speak it today.
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