Raise YOUR voice

Martin Luther King once said, "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people. "The sad reality is we hear story after heartbreaking story as the list of violent crimes in our city continues to grow--gang violence and drive-by shootings, domestic violence and abuse, random disputes gone awry, and malevolent intentional harm.  We hear it on the news all the time unaffected as long it doesn’t touch people we know personally.  If a crime doesn’t actually interfere in our own lives, we remain unchanged, unaware that in reality, one single act of violence touches so many more lives than just the one taken.  The traumatized living victims remain nameless and faceless to us and we are ignorant of the long-term consequences they face.  It’s none of our concern.  We shake our heads in pity and compassions but, in all honesty, our lives remain unaffected by the painful suffering of others…until violence touches our own lives and we or someone we love becomes a victim.  Suddenly, the chaos on the news becomes our own personal stories.  What is it going to take to make YOU raise your voice?