Well, of course you do! In fact we all do, don't we? Can anyone really force another person to speak? In a literal sense, I suppose that is possible to coerce another person into opening his mouth to speak. We've all watched our share of James Bond movies, or similar action-packed thrillers, in which some poor soul is brutally tortured by his oppressors until he divulges some critical piece of information, but what about just speaking up for a cause? Granted, you probably won't be cast in a movie or anything for lending your voice and support, but that doesn't make the cause any less worthy of recognition.
I attended a fabulous workshop this weekend on autism spectrum disorders. In attendance were parents and caregivers for children with autism. They came from all walks of life, but I was struck by one commonality between them. Despite all of the wonderful wisdom and resources that were imparted to us by the featured guest speaker, many of the parents in the room repeatedly expressed frustration with the way their child's educational plan was being implemented (or not!) at school. "This is great information", one parent quipped but his shoulders slumped a bit and his voice stiffened when he added, "but that's just not the way things are in Virginia". Sadly, he was absolutely right! Over and over again, the speaker remarked that the scenarios each parent described were "not legal" or "not written in IDEA", but that didn't seem to matter. The most vocal parents in the audience angrily reported that the schools had "dug their heels in", and parents were left feeling stuck and helpless in their quests to obtain a free and appropriate public education for their children in the state of Virginia.
So, here is my question to you. Given your right to remain silent, will you speak up anyway to help right the wrongs that you see all around you? Although my plate is very full already and I don't feel as if I can take on even one more small task without beginning to unravel, I've decided to put my hand to the plow to help effect change in Virginia's public school special education process. I have always given 150% to any advocacy efforts that concerned my children, but now it's time to think about effecting change for the greater good. How should I go about getting involved? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I'll ask the Lord about this one too - can't go wrong doing that! Stay tuned!
Blessings,
Miriam
