This article goes out to all the quiet Australians. You know who you are. You know what you believe. You understand the world and you think deeply about some of the complexities of Australian culture today.
But you remain silent.
I guess you have reasons for that; reasons that many of us don’t know, because you’ve never told anyone.
I want to say sorry. Sorry for the times you’ve been ridiculed for what you believe. Sorry for the times you’ve held back on putting forward your political perspective, because you knew you would be caned for it. Sorry that you felt you had to shut your mouth, grit your teeth and stay silent.
You may not share openly about your thoughts of the world, but you are passionate nonetheless.
Now, I’m not close enough to you to understand your views but I’ve heard some of the stories.
Some of you have a conservative view of sexuality and you keep quiet about it.
Some of you think it’s important to deal with climate change, but you have Christian friends who think it’s nonsense.
Some of you are offended when a conversation breaks out your faith. You feel ostracized and provoked. You remain silent.
Some of you believe in freedom of speech and ironically don’t tell anyone about it.
Some of you live within the tension of right-wing mates and left-wing cousins. You bite your lip.
A word of encouragement
To every quiet Australian (whatever your view within the rational bounds of respect and decency), I’m happy to listen to what you have to say.
I may not agree with you on everything. But I don’t have to. Maybe the best thing I can do is just listen and allow you to have a voice.
Listen, listen, listen
It reminds me of what a Salvation Army Officer once said to me at the start of my training to become a Salvation Army Minister. He said, ‘The most important aspect of ministry is…‘to listen’.’ I remember the irony of not wanting to listen about a talk on listening, but I eventually got the point.
I’m happy to listen. You don’t have to always be a quiet Australian. Speak out your political views. Share your faith or your lack of. Stand up for what you believe in. Simply join in the societal discourse. Make your voice heard.
It’s like the message of the Christian faith. People will never hear this message of Jesus, if one never speaks up. As the Apostle Paul says, in Romans chapter 10, verses 14-15, ‘But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”’
You may well be a quiet Australian. But you don’t need to stay quiet forever. Find your voice. Even if it means you become vulnerable. Even if it means you may get ridiculed, or someone might miss interpret what you really meant. Or someone throws a snide remark at you.
Your silence is deafening. People need to hear from you.
I’ll champion your freedom to speak out. Even if I don’t agree with what you’re saying!
When we are free to speak out, and are free to engage in political debate and are free to express our philosophical ponderings about the world, we all benefit.
You don’t have to stay silent forever. Join the discussion.
Help create a free and prosperous Australia.
Break the silence.
Find your voice.
Pete Brookshaw is the Senior Minister of The Salvation Army Craigieburn. He has a Bachelor of both Business and Theology and is passionate about the church being dynamic and effective in the world and creating communities of faith that are outward-focused, innovative, passionate about the lost and committed to societal change. He has been blogging since 2006 at http://www.petebrookshaw.com about leadership and faith and you can find him on:
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Peter Brookshaw’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/peter-brookshaw.html