Shared Thoughts…

I’m writing this because starvation in Gaza is happening right now, it is urgent, and it can be stopped. I care that this is happening and I’m using my voice to say so. I’m also writing this to tell you that your voice has real power, and it’s your responsibility to use it.

The world is full of complexity. The situation in Gaza is simple. People, whole families, whole communities, are being starved to desperation, permanent debilitation, and death by political entities. There is no legitimate reason to starve a whole people. But it is happening, in our time and on our watch. Political decision-makers in our own government have the power and influence to stop it. But they won’t act on that until they feel it’s in their interest.

It has to stop. It is that simple. And it’s my responsibility to say so publicly. I have a personal responsibility to my conscience to express what is in my heart. I also have a responsibility to my community to affirm that this issue is real and relevant and worth getting upset about, and that your individual voice matters. Our collective voice can affect actual, real-world change, and our collective voice starts with individual voices. If my voice here means anything to you, that’s proof that your voice can mean something, too.

Please, my fellow citizens, be inconvenient for the people in power. Use your voice to show them what is in your heart and make it their problem. And make your friends and neighbors uncomfortable by doing it where they can see you, and invite them to join you. This is not just about Gaza. This is about our political agency, our freedom, and our dignity.

Thanks to Matt for making me uncomfortable and inviting me to use my voice. Check out this well-researched post of his to get clarity on the human impact of events in Gaza (https://www.cognitivealchemyri.com/blog/thoughts/this-isnt-just-war-its-inheritance).

• Will Egan