By As we close the year, one truth rises louder than ever: we are witnessing disguises become bold displays. It’s happening in our politics, in our communities, in our institutions, and in the quiet moments when power is tested.
What used to be unsaid – the quiet part – is now blaring like an alarm. And rather than panic or retreat, we must face it. Not just with concern, but with clarity. Not just with outrage, but with strategy.
And equal boldness.
In a year marked by public spectacles, policy overhauls, and power plays, we’ve watched leaders say the things once buried in subtext. The quiet parts have been said out loud – and with it, have exposed the systems that rely on complicity and ambiguity to stay intact. That exposure, painful as it may be, is not a curse. It is a mirror.
The allegory in the movie “Wicked For Good” offers an example: a privileged deuteragonist finally “choosing” to do good – but still at the expense of the underdog protagonist. Even when intentions appear noble, systems of power often remain unchanged and those fighting for justice become sacrificial lambs, disposable by those with choices that keep them comfortably in power. It reflects how choosing “good” without choosing justice perpetuates the cycle of harm and reinforces duplicity.
But when you can see clearly, you must speak clearly.
Saying the quiet part out loud for the underdog means refusing to tiptoe around hard, ugly truths. It means acknowledging – plainly and unapologetically – what is not acceptable:
- It is not OK to go along to get along.
- It is not OK to play in our faces with empty words and performative gestures.
- It is not OK to reward manipulation, or punish accountability.
- It is not OK to compromise fairness in exchange for proximity to power.
Saying the quiet part out loud is a declaration. It is the struggle necessary for progress. It’s a rejection of the idea that politeness is more important than truth. It is risk, a disrupter of confusion, and a spotlight on corruption. It’s a refusal to let distortion of truth silence our voices.
Saying the quiet part out loud is the seed of justice. As the year ends, we must unpack it, analyze it, and get strategic. It is how we hold leaders accountable, how we protect our communities, and how we challenge the erosion of integrity. It is a moral imperative that says: Conscience and truth matter, even when it’s inconvenient. Especially when it’s inconvenient.
Unchecked power – whether in small rooms or global arenas – corrodes us all. That’s why saying the quiet parts that we have been conditioned to accept just to get by must become a new posture. One of bold clarity and strategic truth for the sake of real change, whether big or small.