Are my ideas worth your time?
Catchy title?
There is an idea that I have discussed with a handful of my close friends but have not publicly discussed online. It is one that usually follows me around everywhere and one of the last things I go to sleep with at night. The idea is that anything I may come up with and discuss publicly will lead to anger and contempt by others. My ideas will upset people and push them away.
If I’m being honest with you I think some of my most intense ideas would probably get me killed. There is not much historical precedence for whistleblowers or people who speak up in general. You dont even have to look too far into the past for that. Just ask Jamal Khashoggi how that went…oh wait.
Why do we do this to people? How much does life cost? Clearly the price point for entry is safe ideas. Non threatening ones that keep people in the places they’ve always had.
Ideas can be as infectious as a virus and I think that’s what people worry about. Martin Luther was one man who had an idea that infected the monolith that was the Roman Catholic Church. He is the reason there is more than one type of Christian. Could you imagine how threatening that would have been for the Roman Catholic Church for someone to challenge their beliefs? At that time there was no other way.
Death doesn’t scare me but the idea of dying for something I believe in does. I like to think that people are better than killing those whose ideas they disagree with but my faith in that idea is limited.
There is a popular saying that I think rings quite true in this respect, “Those who stand for nothing fall for everything.” If I don’t have enough courage to stand behind the ideas I say regardless of the fears I have then what is the point in having those ideas? I’m aware of what the worst case scenario is, but maybe I can meet it with a smile instead of a frown, accepting it for a possibility but not a reality.
Perhaps that’s where my hope will lay, with the courage I will try to use to bring my ideas forward. At least then I will know I am at peace with myself if I am met with an unfortunate fate.
If you are met with an out of the box idea will you meet it with a frown or with a smile? Are my ideas worth your time?
Till we speak again,
Amanda
