I see so many people give away their voice in fear that what they'll say will be "wrong" or that they'll be held responsible for another person's choices. And this is a fine line, I find, of ethic.

If I have to tell you that encouraging violence or hatred under the veil of "your opinion" is not okay, then you're probably beneath this message. Scroll on.

This message is for people who are afraid to speak, who are nervous to share their ideas and talents. Quieting themselves with the aim of avoiding judgment, guided by the fear of others' opinion.

As I understand it and maybe @rosiesherry can comment on this, Community is powerful but not as prevalent as it was in the past. I think of my Mom as an example:

As an Assyrian woman, she grew up in a time when community was the only way to ensure survival; the absence of which would almost inevitably lead to her death. As a child in the middle of wars in Lebanon, she was dependent on the community's sense of responsibility to shelter her.

Now, I find that even though things have changed and we've gotten increasingly more independent, she's still hesitant to show too much of her individuality, hesitant to break out, speak up. There's an inherent fear that she might--maybe--somehow--need that community again.

What she doesn't see, though, is that there are tens if not hundreds of people who will look to her to be herself as a symbol of permission to be themselves.

And rather than be encouraged by this, she is terrified of the responsibility.

Now I'm sure there are many underlying variables for this and things that I'm not thinking about but in general this is my observation:

Community breaks into individuals and eventually individuals form into communities.

And these new communities, 2.0 if you will, are built around new values. There's something to that.

So my hope, I suppose, is that if you're a decent human being, you respectfully share your opinions and give yourself the space for reflection and experimentation to discover yourself, to appreciate and share your individuality.

It's the only path, really, to finding the others.