Democracy Needs Voices, Not Silence

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http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1219-28.htm

Democracy Needs Voices, Not Silence
by Maya Fairchild

By 5 years old, living in the former Yugoslavia, I understood without question that I was never to speak to anyone about my beliefs. To do so would endanger my family. At the very least my father could lose his job or, worse, end up in prison.

For me it was a childhood filled with stress. To live two lives for someone so young caused much trauma and hardship. The choices I made brought anguish to my heart and soul. For example, once a year, at my school, I denied my belief in God; the principal had those who professed religion stand up - I remained seated - and then, after school, quickly and clandestinely, I would go to church to confess the worst sin there is: denial of God.

The truth in a dictatorship comes out in more subtle and disguised ways. Satire was the preferred method of getting at the truth and expressing one's beliefs. Privately everyone understood its meaning. Publicly, in order to survive, we could only concur with the government's propaganda. And we voiced our agreement with a forced and a dishonest smile.

As the years went by the duplicity of our lives was becoming too hard to tolerate. My father desired to move to a country where he could openly practice his religion without fear of reprisal. He sought illegal and dangerous ways to escape the tyranny of a dictatorship. And he succeeded and brought the family to the United States.

Words cannot describe the good feeling I had at Edgewood High School receiving Communion out in the open, kneeling next to my fellow classmates. And I started to shape my own opinions about the world and I shared those openly in class. It was unreal to do these activities without fear or shame.

I was falling in love with my new country and appreciating the core values of its democracy. I understood what being free meant.

But, sadly, starting in 2000 my country began to change. Slowly but relentlessly the executive branch of our government began to assert unprecedented power - from unprovoked war to illegal secret surveillance of American citizens.

When the invasion of Iraq began I started to protest and express my opinion that the war was a huge mistake. My friends dissuaded me from speaking and asked me to support our president and our country at the time of war. The forced and dishonest smile of my childhood was back.

Now, the experiences that have shaped me drive me to reach out to fellow Americans. This is my message: Our democracy depends on us. The very structure demands citizens' participation. We are a source of true and legitimate political power. It is both our duty and privilege to be vocal about our viewpoint. We have the responsibility to let those in power know where we stand and how they need to represent us. By giving a few hours each month to citizen activities, we can bring our country back to its constitutional mandates.

I understand that for many, democracy is a given, and that it is hard to imagine losing something you may have taken for granted. But if the threat of terrorists' attack makes you so afraid that you'd be willing to give up your liberty, I just wanted to remind you that a "safe" life with fear and shame is no life at all. What country will you escape to?