Silence Can be Louder Than Words
Participants of the Vow of Silence, Melissa, Simone, Jordan, Nick, Peter, Trey, Diana, and Madeline. |
By: Diana Rodriguez
It is a common human right to be able to speak, so what makes children living in poverty have any less right to be able to speak up? In 2010 there were more than 820 schools that took the vow of silence and remained silent for a combined total of about 932,164 hours, which adds up to at least 82 years. The purpose of the Vow of Silence is to remain silent for 24 hours: a way to stand with the children who are denied the right to speak because of poverty, disease, and exploitation. The vow of silence is an event that is participated in world wide and can include no speaking; no communication through e-mail, Facebook, twitter or text messages; and sometimes no hand gestures or writing notes in books. |
On November 30 2011, over 100 St. James students took part in the Vow of Silence in support of Free the Children. When walking through the halls, some students were still seen trying to communicate by using their hands or mouthing words. This struggle to communicate proves how necessary it is to communicate verbally and through actions; it can only make us imagine how difficult it would be to be completely silent with no actions. Not only did students take the Vow of Silence, but so did celebrities such as Joe Jonas, Shawn Desman, Shaquille O’Neal, and Nina Dobrev.On twitter Nina Dobrev wrote, “Stand with me & Free The Children in silence to support those without a voice.” Not only did such celebrities take the vow of silence, but they also donated money to Free the Children to help children in poverty world wide. |
Those that took the vow of silence know how extremely difficult it was to remain silent for 24 hours. I makes us realize how difficult it would be to live silently for years and shows us how appreciative we should be to have the right to speak for what we believe in. So let’s not forget about those who are forced to live in silence and appreciate the rights we have been given to speak for ourselves. |
