Are You Part of the Solution or Are You Part of the Problem?

Far too many people do too little or nothing.

I think it is safe to say that the majority of the people choose to stay silent and constantly look to others to speak up and fix issues that they have just as much power on their own to fix.

Can you stay in the middle? For how long and for what?

Can you sit on the sidelines?

Does not helping make you part of the problem?

Any problem, any issue no matter how big or small you consider it to be. For everything forms and shapes our reality and the world around us.

Being a bystander is not an option anymore. It has never been.

“There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem.” Eldridge Cleaver

People who aren't actively part of the solution are ultimately a part of the problem – any problem – because they have the opportunity to assist or contribute to solving the issue, even by speaking up, and they don’t.

Choose what you are.

No Excuses

With the shocking increase of votes for a neo-nazi party in Greece in the local elections, I have been constantly hearing the excuse that 'people are angry; it’s a vote of reaction'.

“It is wise to direct your anger towards problems – not people; to focus your energies on answers – not excuses.” (William Arthur Ward)

There are no excuses anymore. In the information era, one should have by now a very clear idea of who they are voting for.

Practicing our fundamental right to vote means responsibility. And the greater the problems, the greater the responsibility. Even for a vote of 'reaction', we have the responsibility to learn, research, to keep informed and to make a decision that provides answers.

I accept no excuses. If we are responsible citizens, then we focus our energy on finding solutions; on making progress and not excuses. 

Atonement

Today’s (second) post is about atonement.

Try as we might, the fact is we are human and we cannot be perfect. There will be something we did or did not do, something we said, a mistake we made or a post we missed.

The most effective steps to deal with them is to:

1. Take responsibility
2. Apologize 
3. Make amends
4. Forgive ourselves
5. Move on

Learning the lesson and making sure we do not repeat them is usually optional. 

Note: a common omission and mistake is to skip the very important step 3. Don't. 

Whose Business Is It Anyway?

“It’s none of our business”, was the reply I heard this afternoon when sharing my concerns about the ethics of a particular business situation.

“It’s none of your business”, I heard a couple of hours later when I voiced my concerns over a situation that was putting a child in danger.

Starting with the second case, it’s not my child; therefore that makes it “none of my business”. This invalid argument would imply that we should all witness parents’ troubling, or even abusive, acts and not react because we are not the parents of those children. How much sense does that make?

In the first case, everything that has to do with my profession is indeed my business. Who do we expect to safeguard the standards of our profession? There is a shared responsibility here and no one can deny that. We join professional bodies, we take oaths, we commit to ethics regulations and we honor all that. It is our business to voice anything unethical that comes to our notice, anything that violates those commitments, anything that harms the reputation of our profession, anything that affects the trust in what we do.

It is our business to watch our politicians, to demand that they perform to the standards for which they have been elected, with accountability, integrity and effectiveness.

It is our business to make sure our children get the education that they deserve.

It is our business to demand that our taxes be spent and invested wisely.

It is our business to protect the environment.

It is our business to expect that our data be protected.

It is our business to tell another customer that he/she is being rude to an employee and vice versa.

I could produce an endless list of the things that are our business, because everything is our business. Things do not just happen. Things are allowed to happen. And while we remain in our “peace bubble” of none-of-my-business, things – bad things – will continue to happen. Unless we speak up.

Speak Up!

Today I had a conversation with a dear colleague about an unpleasant situation. While we were talking she confessed her demotivation due to specific behaviors. She found them very inappropriate, yet stayed like the majority of the people witnessing them, silent. I replied with Edmund Burke’s words: “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”.

We were heading towards an outcome that was going to destroy the efforts of years and where the “evil” would triumphed.  Then I confessed my own frustration for the silence of the others, that none stood up for what they (we) considered right.

Most of my life has been defined by Confucius words: "To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness." I have refused to silently listen and see the wicked, which brings me often to trouble. But then, I know I am true to myself and in peace, although many times I have to face undesired conflicts, even bullying, just to shut up.

Nobody likes conflicts. Nobody wants to engage in situations that are not what they were supposed to be, or where it seems pointless to speak up. Yet not being heard is no reason for silence. And if all you need is a little courage in order for you to speak, consider that as a testing point.

“Courage is not simply one the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point” (C.S. Lewis)

Speak up and remember: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” (Bishop Desmond Tutu)

I speak up. Sometimes I am heard, sometimes I get into trouble. All of the times I stay true to my commitment to integrity.