I’ve said it a million times myself.
“I want to give a voice to the people that don’t have one.”
But after going to India a few months ago, it began to occur to me that my philosophy is completely off track.
Everyone has a voice. Even the people who are the most overlooked.
They have beautiful voices.
Broken voices.
Voices pleading for help.
Voices singing with hope.
Even their silence says something…
The phrase “I want to give a voice to the people that don’t have one” has to go.
It’s dehumanizing.
THEY have a voice.
The problem is WE don’t listen.
Comments
30 responses to “Are You Listening?”
SO true. Thank you for this post!
.-= Devon Groner?s last blog .. =-.
So true… and what I’m pressing into right now. Good stuff…
.-= Matthew Snyder?s last blog ..:: Who is Jesus :: =-.
Isn’t it amazing that half the problem is us, and whether we’re willing to listen to those who are overlooked?
It is the Silence that says Everything.
It’s amazing how a trip overseas, away from our American culture, often ruins us and our philosophy… for the good.
Thanks Anne.
Do people say that in regards to people who are not “Famous” or have 20,000 twitter followers or are people just saying that?
Because in all reality we have built it up to this idea that you have to have 30,000 unique visitors to your blog and write books to have a voice. At least that is what I have noticed and understood.
But you are exactly right, we all have a voice, I guess it is just hard to hear some people speak sometimes.
.-= Kyle Reed?s last blog ..What if FlashForward was a Reality? =-.
Sometimes because there are 30,000 competing voices…
“Competing” being the key word.
Kudos to Kyle. Great sentiments.
My understanding of “giving people a voice” is the idea that they need a platform to be heard. I agree, they have voices, voices of purity and passion, voices with vision and value…but they need to people to “give voice to their voice”.
I would be afraid if we stopped looking to “give people voice” that we would in-turn forget to listen.
Elle, I’ve used the phrase in the way Anne’s speaking of in our hungry planet bible project.
I said in a video promo that the our project was aimed at “giving the homeless, a face, a voice, and a Savior.” I can see revising to “amplifying the voice of the homeless”, but at every shelter I’ve stayed at, they were grateful, both the residents and the staff, to have a microphone both to tell their story and have their faces and voices as part of a new documentary and audio New Testament I’m recording. And yes, I’m donating any royalties that may be generated back into those ministries and orgs.
Through the din and rage of the crowd, or simply the indifference of the church, putting a microphone in front of someone that most wouldn’t think to offer it to IS giving them a voice in relation to the noise or the attention level. And that’s what Anne is talking about I believe.
It’s disheartening to think all this effort could be viewed as dehumanizing because a phrase has become cliche. Hopefully none of my materials have conveyed a dehumanizing attitude. I’m so grateful that Mike, Jud, and the POTSC have been hugely supportive of my project both when I was out in the OC and in Vegas during my journey.
Anne, if you would like a copy of “No Room at the Inn”, the first DVD about some of the women and children we encountered on our 10,000 mile road trip, shoot me a note because copies will be in next week. It doesn’t just include their stories, but also includes these women reading the Christmas story from Mark.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
So true!!!! And I often say that phrase. It makes me rethink some things. I need to LISTEN.
Thanks for this!
.-= Tiffany?s last blog ..Etsy Tuesday =-.
God help me to be a better listener…… let me be still long enough to know the right thing about what i hear…
Great thought, Anne, and compelling writing as well. It’s interesting to think through the voices I listen to and the ones I tune out. It seems there are more and more of the 30,000 that need to be tuned out; perhaps not because they’re not worth listening to but because we only have ears for a few, so we should choose wisely.
It also reminds me there’s One I should listen to more than any, and I give Him less air time than even some of the “voiceless.”
Thanks for the encouragement…
.-= Chris Tomlinson?s last blog ..Dear Kayli Anneke =-.
Thanks, Anne.
.-= Jason?s last blog ..God showed us one of the reasons we’re in Nashville… =-.
that is so true. each person has a voice. I try and listen…i think our hearts listen and hear. Each time we see something unjust and our heart hurts for someone…we hear it.
But do we choose to do something about it? do we join our voice with theirs to make the difference…thats where i have to say most times i dont.
.-= Lynse Leanne?s last blog ..Paste Jewelry and Sawdust Hotdogs =-.
I believe we cup our hands over our ears, pretend that what we do manage to hear is not real, deny what we see as being someone elses problem, and drive fast by the poor areas of town so we can continue to say we didn’t know. BUT there is no excuse anymore. This generations world is so small, information is readily accessible. We do know now we have to act. They have a voice, like you said, we just have to take the time to listen and hear their voices, not pretend they are invisible.
.-= Carole Turner?s last blog ..The Wreck =-.
It’s funny how we tend to adopt cliches to express even our best intentions…without really unpacking their meaning or considering how odd they might sound to people of other faiths/backgrounds/cultures.
Thanks for helping us look at this in a new way, Anne. It’s helpful because, next time I hear that phrase, I’ll think to myself – Am I listening?
.-= Rachel H. Evans?s last blog ..Interview with Jason Boyett about doubt…and pantaloons =-.
i agree. i’ve thought that before and you just reminded me of it. so many voices are speaking, even in silence.. are we listening? good word.
.-= Jonathan?s last blog ..Intentionality. =-.
Brilliant insight.
I need ears to hear.
.-= tsharrison?s last blog ..Website: Missed Connections NY =-.
That’s some grade-A wisdom right there, Anne…kudos.
Can you imagine what it would be like going through a day just listening, and not talking about ourselves? I imagine it would be quite hard….
.-= Josh?s last blog ..God is huge =-.
Wow, I’ve never heard a westerner living in America say this, I’m impressed. I am an American living in Africa and believe me, it is dehumanizing to say things like those phrases. I can’t tell you how many Africans, in tears, tell me they feel belittled and insulted that western organizations show up and tell them that Africans need them to be properly heard. Voice for the Voiceless puts us in position of power… you need me to “give you a platform”. I cringe when I hear phrases like that, I know what it does to the dignity of our brothers and sisters around the world.
Anne, Michael,Chris, Lynse, Lindsey – and all of you –
I hear you. There is heartbreaking need here, and if we love these people we can’t just be quiet. Yet there are many sides to this. For example, Lindsey, I’d never even thought of your points.
When my wife and I were homeless after a layoff – with our two teenaged children – we met and saw many people who didn’t have much “voice” – at least not one that carried very far. And few people were listening. (One Christian magazine editor turned down an article I wrote describing what we’d seen by saying she’d “never heard of such things.”) I could only ask myself, “why not?”
I think one reason is that we DON’T listen. Another is that we don’t go where we can see them or hear their voices. (Praise God for churches like Healing Place.) We stay in our comfortable neighborhoods and churches, or in front of our comfortable TV sets.
I’m sure God understands this very well. His own voice is “still and small.” Very quiet.
A few years ago I overheard one of my son’s friends trying to convince him that God doesn’t speak to anyone today, even if he did in Bible days, and even if he’s “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hearing them argue made me wonder: Is it that God doesn’t talk? Or just that we don’t listen? Or that the TV’s turned up too loud for us to hear? It did make me appreciate how God identifies with the “voiceless.” He’s often one too. I resolved to spend more time trying to be still, and to listen better. And some neat experiences came out of that.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” -Proverbs 31:8-9
“The German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer frequently quoted this verse in the years before World War II. He was urging his fellow Christians to speak up for Hitler’s victims, particularly Jews who had been stripped of their civil rights.” -commentary from the Student Bible
I’d actually rather that this “phrase” not go…but you are right that we cannot speak to our friends, neighbors and congressmen about the oppressed when we really don’t take the time to listen. I’ve come to realize how little I understand other people. I’ve always thought it strange that people who have gone through the same things as me still have very different reactions and scars.
I came across a sweet blogger who did the work to sit down and tell her story and I read for pages and pages. An hour and a half later I think I finally am beginning to grasp something that I assumed I understood. It’s made me quieter. It’s made me realize that I have been missing an important part of service. I’ve been leaving out listening to their story.
You’re right Anne. Good post!
–Terrace Crawford
http://www.terracecrawford.com
http://www.twitter.com/terracecrawford
.-= Terrace Crawford?s last blog ..Got Google Wave? =-.
I could not agree more! This is just so TRUE!
I think part of the problem is that we sometimes assume that we know the solution to their problems. So, instead of allowing the people to speak for themselves, we talk over them, giving voice to what we believe they need.
I think “dehumanizing” is the most perfect choice of words. Thanks for sharing this.
.-= Jamie the Very Worst Missionary?s last blog ..Thankspigging. =-.
Thanks for writing your blog. I recently discovered it, and love it. Because of what I’ve read and seen on here I decided to begin sponsoring through CI. Often times we want desperately to help the hurting around us, and just dont know how, so thanks for highlighting the small things that average people can do.
Thank you SO MUCH for sponsoring!!!
Great thoughts Anne!
.-= T. Rousey?s last blog ..To Give, or Not to Give to the Homeless? =-.
I love your heart and your sentiment here. Yes, the question we need to ask is “are we listening?” And I hate that “giving a voice to those who have none” has turned into a cliche because I believe there’s validity there.
Maybe what we really mean is that we’re giving a platform or a microphone or language to help amplify someone else’s voice (assuming we’ve listened to them – that part’s imperative). But the reality is that there are people all over the world – in developing nations *and* developed nations – who have voices that are not being heard…. even voices that are silenced. (And they can be “silenced” a bazillion ways.) I think it’s hugely important that we make room for them around our tables and across our local and world platforms because usually these are the folks who would never invite themselves.
{sorry, having trouble commenting. here’s the rest of what i wanted to say.} If we are making ourselves out to be heroes by trying to amplify and make room for someone else’s voice, then maybe we need to check our motives (and yes, that is certainly dehumanizing, as is coming from the outside in to identify all of their “problems” and offer culturally biased quick fixes). But there’s something to be said for using the power given us to empower others. Let us not forget that in our attempt to ditch cliches and imperialistic thinking.
Right now as my children are young I often lend them my voice, asking “is this what you mean?” and giving them language to express themselves. But as they are empowered with language for their problems and ideas the need for my “help” and my translation of what they’re saying to the rest of the world will diminish and then eventually disappear. Right now my job is to listen and empower, advocate and translate for them. I hope that’s what we’re doing for others who’s voice IS beautiful and profound and valuable… but not being heard. To me, that’s what “voice for the voiceless” really means… and I hope to always be one who empowers others to be heard. And one who continues learning how to listen well.
Amen, Adriel
/ When I was in Thailand in chang mai. I hope I spelled that right. Every day beorfe the little boys that lived there and helped us build bathrooms for their school, would eat food there at the campgrounds. They would sing about thanking God for their food after they prayed for it. All the girls I went with thought it was so cute and we all learned the lryics to it, but now I can only remember three of words, which was con(silent n) poon praga, which mean thank you God in thai.