Speaking Out Against the Narrative

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The dangers of speaking out

As alternatives to the government’s standpoint, there is a vast wealth of knowledge from experts using their own due diligence, skills, experience and research. They have respectably arrived at a different viewpoint from the government and media messages, but their voices are not heard. Worse, they are shunned, gagged and penalised. Scientists who, from the outset, advocated a different response to the crisis were vilified by the press and ridiculed by their government-backed colleagues and the media. This attitude of shutting down opinion prevails in other fields: NHS staff feeling threatened by Trust bosses if they speak out about the pitiful lack of PPE, and radio stations expressing a different truth face financial penalties and sanctions. Just recently a Sussex based community radio station that broadcasted a guest who offered different advice to the official government guidance on dealing with Covi-19, were immediately threatened with sanctions by the official regulator, Ofcom.

Celebrities who feel compelled to use their platform to voice their personal beliefs and opinions are warned that they are risking their careers. For example, actress and Britain’s Got Talent judge, Amanda Holden, recently had to delete a Tweet she’d shared, warning people about the risks of 5G. Her agent hastily convinced her that her future was on the line if she expressed such opinions in public. She removed the Tweet, and her truth disappeared from view.

Those who stand up for their beliefs, and who will not be silenced are often pilloried by the press, scorned by mainstream media, and attacked on social media. Even when their truth is in the public interest, there are powers that will make every attempt to silence them.

Police state?

With the national and global crisis comes new laws, and an increased police and military presence to enforce them in the UK. Yet the West has always decried totalitarian states like China and other regimes that control their populace and who remove their rights to free speech – in fact, we have often declared war against such countries. And yet, in this time, our rights to question our own state narrative are being removed. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, we have to accept what we are told by the media and the institutions of power they serve, or we face being demonised, fined and even imprisoned.

Why do we only hear the official line? Who buys into it? And who will stand up against it?
We are bound by a system that many people are beginning to question. This system itself prevents us from taking a stand for what we know to be right.

But what will it take, for us to overcome that fear?

 

Beating the system – with your truth

The truth is often only seen by a few. And if you are one of those gifted with this sight, it is your responsibility to bring light to the darkness. The fact that you have this intuition – an ability to make sense, in the confusion – is no coincidence. It has been gifted to you because not many have your courage and your capability to hold such knowledge. Don’t waste your insight. Share your truth.

In 1967, Muhammad Ali was sentenced to five years in jail, fined, and stripped of his title and boxing license – for draft evasion, even though he had a conscientious objection to the Vietnam War. He appealed and protested against this ruling, and eventually, won. But it took years before his license was reinstated, and decades before he received a pardon. And still, he persisted and stayed true to his principles.

In chaotic times, we must look to those who have gone before us, those who have stood up for what they believe in. When faced with darkness, we must tap into their strength and the courage that guided them to make the correct decisions.

When faced with adversity, how do you want to be remembered? And the question has to be asked: what do you value most?

Is it career progression? Your brand? The acceptance of others? Or being true to yourself and making a stand for what you believe to be right and in doing so inspiring and empowering others to stand up for what they know to be true.

People live in fear of losing things – their jobs, their money, their business, their homes, But are they ever truly yours if, at any point, these things can simply be taken away?

Even if it doesn’t feel comfortable or safe to do so, now is the time to shed a light on this world. Speaking your truth will ignite the truth within others. Like a candle sharing its flame, one by one, the lights will go on, throughout the darkness. And in this way, your first brave light illuminates all the others, until only the truth exists.

 

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Cover photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels
Article photo by Ashutosh Sonwani from Pexels

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