being frank

I assume that, like most people, I do my best to stay current with the various articles that come out during the week. My usual method is to bookmark the ones I’m interested in then circle back in the evenings or over the weekend. Lately, that virtual reading pile had gotten out of hand, so I made a point to catch up this past weekend. There’s never much order to it; I just start with the oldest and work my way forward.

By the third or fourth article, I noticed something odd; I kept running into this phrase:

Requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

Say, what?

I understand those instances where reporters or journalists may work on investigative pieces within the corporate, military or governmental arenas. In cases where attribution is necessary to underscore the legitimacy of their origin story, they will protect their source’s confidentiality using such phrases as:

In some instances, a source’s job or reputation could be at risk. In others, those repercussions could extend to their family, invading their privacy or in extreme cases, putting them in harm’s way.

But it was the wording at the end of that statement that made me stop:

…out of fear of retaliation.

Don’t get me wrong: I am neither naïve nor oblivious to the darker aspects of society. But what does it say about us when people fear consequences merely for expressing a belief, offering an observation, or wanting to shed light on the truth? I also understand that this kind of caution has always existed, but…

…out of fear of retaliation?

Aren’t we supposed to be getting better? Aren’t we supposed to be trying to get past the mistakes and errant behavior of those who came before us in order to create a better version of ourselves? Why should such an ominous statement have to be strategically placed in just about every article I read?

Aren’t we all supposed to be setting an example for future generations?

I must confess: The surfacing of that foreboding statement was not the motivator for this article. That dubious honor goes to the consequences it carries.

So many of us get caught up in conversations where we might vent our frustrations or anger about one horrible thing or another that occurs almost daily. We’ll appeal to our purported sense of justice or outrage in wondering how these things happen. And yet they do – all the time – to the point where journalists have to remind us at every turn that there are people out there who want to make a difference; who may possess information critical for upholding the greater good but are too scared to speak truth to power because there are others who have lost their sense of humanity.

Is the global we incapable of wanting this aberrant behavior to stop? Do we not have polices and principles and laws designed to act as a safeguard against the unscrupulous aspects of our nature? Do we not have elected officials who swore to uphold, impose or oversee the guidelines by which to ensure that our society would remain safe, and that our freedoms (such as they are) could remain relatively free from harm or oppression?

Final Thoughts

We’ve devalued life to the point where the mere mention of someone being threatened with harm or their life ended doesn’t even pull us away from our smartphones or tablets. We’ve become so jaded that our outrage has become as brief as our attention span. We throw our arms up in disgust, raise our voice, bitch for a few minutes, then move on to see if our team made it to the Final Four of March Madness, or catch up on whatever is going on with The Bachelorette.

These are the things that grab our attention; these are but a few of the insipid things we pursue. It’s where our interests have come to roost, dominating our already overloaded attention span.

What the hell have we become?

I’m not saying that we don’t have a right to unwind, nor am I minimizing the frustration or the fear that you yourself are probably harboring. What I’m trying to convey to you is this:

Stop swimming in that infinity pool of meaningless distractions; there’s nothing in that stream of stars or athletes or influencers that deserves your undivided attention. You need to unplug and go someplace where you’re surrounded by nature and little else. Stop sabotaging your thoughts and spend more time with your compassion.

Get reacquainted with your values; you may find them to be a bit threadbare and in need of help. Try to remember what your parents or grandparents constantly tried to forewarn you about; they weren’t as much of a pain in the ass as you may have thought. Those around you who love you don’t admonish just for fun; they do so because they love you and they’re getting worried.

The best parts of ourselves don’t disappear; they get caught beneath a tide of social apathy. Find that part of yourself that understood how to recognize what really matters. You won’t be alone; truth and fairness never are when they’re the integral part that breathes life into your humanity.