john_khalkho@yahoo.com
4 min readApr 3, 2022

The Sunday Feed

Time to speak up!

It is ironic for someone to release an article on “Silence” and the very next week urge people to speak up. Well, I may be guilty as charged but bedside manner dictates that the defendant should be given a fair trial.

Silence can be interpreted in many different ways, so, if you are using it with deliberation, then, you should be fine with it. You know what you are doing and you expect the desired outcome. However, if you just leave it without really understanding how it is going to impact you, then, here are a few things you might want to consider:

1. Silence is approval: I am usually a very quiet person and do not get hooked on to other people’s battles. But, the way Russia has smothered the towns and civilisations of Ukraine has managed to stir up huge emotions even in people like me.

I have a small group of people on the so-called Facebook friend circle and I saw that 98% choose to abstain from expressing their views and remain silent. Can I take the liberty of assuming then that they approve of Putin’s aggression? Maybe they don’t but it does give reasonable doubt for me to think that my assumption is not completely without a basis.

2. Prove your worth: We all know that when the big mouths stop talking, the hard workers get on with the job. And when the assignment is done, the plagiarists return to take credit. They get the rewards, the recognitions the perks and the toilers go back to work.

Well you cannot blame the fakes because they could only do what they did since you allowed them to do so. If you would have just shaken your lips a bit and communicated to the team about your idea, you could have easily patented it and all the winnings would have been yours.

3. Take a side: You can be either right or wrong. There is no such thing as being neutral. And even if you are, both the parties will assume that you are on the opposing side. A great example of this can be seen in voting where a third of the population refrains from voting in many countries. You cannot do this in Australia as voting is compulsory.

I can understand that not everyone can fight a political party that employs goons who can come after you. But then again, the system provides you with a golden opportunity to cast your vote and get rid of these types of establishments. After every election we hear this cliché reiterated by all the politicians — “The people have spoken!” so make sure your voice is heard.

4. You are a genius: I saw this documentary on cloning where they said that just like an artificial heart, we will one day be able to create an artificial brain by transferring all the data from one brain to the other — The biological hard drive!

While I am not in favour of substituting YouTube with formal learning, I cannot deny that there are plenty of genuine masters in a plethora of fields who take out the time and effort to put together some lessons and share their knowledge. The least you can do is watch them and share their work.

5. Gather support: Man is a social animal and often abandons a great idea just because he or she does not have the support of people. They feel that the task is too daunting or it might take a lot of efforts and involve cost they might not be able to incur.

This is the age of social media and you will be surprised how many people will be more than happy to join you if your vision is noble. And more importantly, people like to support the underdog. They get a moral feeling of social justice.

6. Have Fun: There is a proverbial saying that, “ I have a thousand problems but they can wait till tomorrow.” One of the famous bloggers called Tim Denning says that, ”If you heart is beating, you are a billionaire.” So if you are a billionaire, then, what is stopping you from living as compared to just surviving?

Yes, go to the local pub and speak to people. Have fun. Debate on any topic you like. But just make sure that your views are not prejudiced or make mockery of poor or challenged people.

And finally, if you are a person who believes in visualisation or deliberations then spell out your intentions loudly. Do not worry about your neighbour. He has his ear pods on.

John Khalkho CEO: Dolores Education

Photo: icsa on pexels

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