Live within the truth!

I think Havel's example of the Green Grocer putting up the sign in his store window, and all those who walk by and ignore it, in The Power of the Powerless is definitely the best part we've read so far. I think it's so interesting how people were able to live this way - doing things and saying things that they didn't necessarily feel all because they were scared of what would happen if they didn't follow the rules. To relate it back to my common theme for this blog, connections between what we're doing in class and our society today, it almost reminds me of people not speaking up against comments that aren't "politically correct".
Havel talks about a woman who just walks by the sign and doesn't say anything about it. She also has put up a sign, and Havel describes how when the green grocer visits her store, he doesn't notice her sign either. The sign is just something they did without thinking, and neither of them feels the need to acknowledge it for fear of what might happen to them. This reminds me of when people in our society use words like "gay" or "retard" derogatory terms, and a lot of people just let it slide. I definitely used to be one of those people who would just ignore when terms like that would be used. I stopped when the word "retard" started to be used more and more. I have a brother with mental and physical disabilities, and one day I was talking to him about that word and how it made him feel to hear other people call someone "retarded" when talking about a person being stupid. He told me that it made him so upset and bad about himself. He knew they weren't calling him that word, but he also felt hurt and sad and worthless. After that conversation with him, I made it my mission to make sure that no one used that word anymore. I now feel comfortable speaking up when I hear someone use it. Sometimes I get nervous to stand up for what I believe in because I don't want others to think I'm weird or think of me differently, but I'm definitely getting more comfortable telling people not to use it.
The green grocer and the woman both know what the slogan says; they both knowingly put them in their windows having some idea of what it means and know that they will be identified as believing what it says. I believe that that is the same as talking to someone who uses a term like "gay" or "retard" and not speaking up about how hurtful those words can be. People in our society may not have their entire lives at stake if they do speak up and start to live within the truth, but they are conscious of the fact that they may lose their friends or get fired if they speak up about how they feel. I think that social isolation and being unemployed because of standing up for your beliefs would be awful as well as being jailed or put in a camp like Ludvick.
Those who do live within the truth when it comes to speaking out against derogatory terms and racial terms are stronger than anyone. There's a campaign to Spread the Word to End the Word - about ending the use of the word "retard" - and the national day to spread the word this year is March 7. I love seeing people pledging to stop using the word and posting the homepage of Spread the Word to End the Word (http://www.r-word.org/) on Facebook. Living within the truth is something that takes a lot of courage, but I think once you start to live within the truth even just a little bit, it becomes so much easier to start voicing your opinion and standing up for what you believe in.