Transformation of Silence - Josh Freetly Blog 4

 In the essay  "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action" by Audre Lorde she talks about speaking when we are silenced as an act of self-revelation. This holds true in our world today as more and more groups who have been silenced throughout history like people of color or members of the LGBT+ community are speaking out about the challenges they face despite the fear these challenges have instilled. This speaking in spite of the fear reveals the true self of humanity as diverse and colorful not white and affluent. This means the self-revelation of uttering the self outward reveals the truth for one giving the next the courage to share their truth slowly making the truth of the collective come to light and help make the world a better place. 

The essay calls on us all to not sit in our fearful silence and instead to speak for ourselves and show the world that we are here and here we shall stay and talk for our lives. This helps to motivate me as the reader to want to speak up about myself rather that be by being bolder in conversation or writing snippets of my life into a journal. She also discusses how this defiance of speaking when hushed helps us to actualize and become stronger in the face of adversity. This further motivates me to never let myself be quiet because it shows us that the more, we talk as ourselves about anything and everything the less we will have to fight the fear to speak, and the more we can simply be ourselves out loud. If I had the chance, I'd asked how much more she felt like her ideal self when she started to talk instead of remaining in the quiet. I also want to know if and if so, how it felt when the fear began to fade and you could just speak freely not battle against.