SPEAK OUT

UNEDITED SAMPLE LITERARY ARTICLE
By Jose Mari Hall Lanuza
IV-Enrico Fermi


“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.”

Do you try to keep your thoughts and ideas to yourself if those ideas appear to oppose those of others? Do you suppress the things you think of just because of a certain fear, a fear that maybe you’ll be treated differently just because you think differently? Well, you should not.

Everyone has the right to say what they feel or what they think. No one should be deprived of that right. Nor should anyone be afraid of what others might feel about their thoughts. Just because your ideas are not the same with others, it does not mean that you should not express them. No one should agree with the majority just because they are part of the minority. People should not be afraid to say what is on their mind.
We should not be afraid of being different from others. We should not be afraid of not being a part of the majority. People should not feel that they will not be normal if they disagree with the greater part of the population.

This has been a profound habit for many. People tend to keep to themselves what they think because it goes against what many think. And this is not a new case, because you can see it anywhere. The most common example is the homeroom elections in a classroom. You will often hear students say, “kung saan na lang madami” or “kung sino na lang ang lamang.” But it should not be like that. People have to exercise their right to express what is on their minds.

There are a few people that are brave enough to be called “different.” There are only a few who would say what they feel, even if they are outnumbered by people who hate dislike the idea. We should tolerate those people. We should not let ourselves be censored just because of our own cowardice. Express what you feel. Say what you want to say. Do not let yourself be a part of the spiral of silence that is slowly but surely growing. Let your thoughts be known. Because an idea, no matter how great, will be useless if nobody gets to hear it.