Have you ever been in the audience of a speaker that you truly are excited about hearing what they have to say? It is a topic of great interest and one in which the community is constantly talking about. And just as the speaker begins to talk about the subject matter, their speech is so low that you can barely even hear what it being said. You know that the speaker has knowledge about the presentation, but you just can not hear the words. A voice from the back says, “Will you please speak up, we can not hear you.” But, the message remains inaudible. Is it a problem with the audio system? Is it a problem with your hearing? Or is it simply that the speaker’s message will be lost because they have chosen to deliver it in a manner than is nothing more than a whisper. What a waste.

Perhaps this would have been the very person who would have had the solution to whatever problem that they were speaking about. You will never really know because no one heard it. This lack of volume on the part of many speakers is what has allowed many problems to persist today. Many people have opinions about various topics, but based on their uncertainty or lack of confidence that they should speak their mind, the problems continue to plague society. For instance, I am amazed that we continue to let one child after another fall victim to child molestation without literally raising the roof in protest. None of us like it, and we freely admit, very politely and quietly, that we find these crimes hideous, but our objections stop at that point. Another whisper that is lost as soon as it is uttered with no one to hear.

We read the stories about gangs ruining entire neighborhoods. People are literally locked in their own homes because they are afraid to go outside. No one would want to live in such a manner. Neighbors talk about it among themselves but their complaints pale in comparison to the story of the crime itself. Those of us who are fortunate to live in safe neighborhoods are perturbed at the carnage that gangs are leaving and we will tell anyone who is willing to listen, if they can hear the whisper. Whispering will just not do the job! Too many good speakers are not being heard because they won’t turn up the volume.

These quiet objections must turn into loud shouting. The kind of shouting that comes from people who are fed up with those who benefit most when we continue to utilize our mute buttons. The kind of shouting that will resonate through our communities, our media outlets, and our criminal justice and judicial systems. The kind of shouting that must be heard when criminals are released back on the street simply to commit another crime. The kind of shouting that assures our children that they are more important than any pervert and the kind of shouting that lets criminal gangs or any other thug know that they are irrelevant and unwanted.

Shout to your local politicians. They are always out there on the campaign trail with a voice that is comparable to an operatic vibrato. But, it seems that when they get to the capitol, the place where the shouting should be most prominent, the message sounds more like it is coming from a bashful child in a second grade school performance, nothing more than a whisper. We are listening but we can’t hear you. Will you please speak up!