Each of us has been gifted with a voice, but for some of us, maybe even most of us, it seems that when it really matters, too often our voice is unheard. That is to say, for example, when we look at misbehaving children, it isn’t so much that they are bad at heart, for remember these are just little kids, but rather when we feel that they are acting out, it has a lot more to do with their feeling that they are unheard, and hence they make a scene to get attention, because they want to be recognized and to be heard. So too, it is the same for those of us who are adults, whenever they act out in ways that we might well find to be discomforting, inconvenient, violent, or upsetting, because they feel that nobody is listening, and that they are being ignored, so they therefore are prone to making a scene, which will bring attention and a response from those who simply have not been paying proper attention to them.
Indeed, we live in a present construct in which the powers that be, seem to have devolved into the playbook of strict law and order, insisting that what troubles this nation isn’t the unfairness, the inequality, the injustice, or the lack of opportunity, but rather that we coddled those that should be made an example of, and there is no better way to take care of business than to bring the big stick down upon those that are not obedient to the law. What has been ignored, though, is that the unheard may well have a point. So then, the better response to those who are not behaving as we think they ought to is to try to understand where they are coming from, and to the degree, then, that we can address those areas that will make things better, we ought to do so, because a great society consists of concentrating on promoting the general welfare for all, and not oppressing even more those that are already oppressed and disadvantaged enough.
All of the above signifies that we need to do a better job of listening to those that have essentially been left behind, so as to better understand what we can do to alleviate their pain and suffering, thereby to get them to the point, where they can take in their rightful claim to liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness, because whenever we find that there is a segment or even segments of the population that have no voice, this thus indicates that they have not been heard, because they have not been provided with a forum to have their say. So then, any country that desires to earn the moniker of being a great country needs firstly to understand that greatness comes from listening carefully and with consideration to those that have been unheard, and then that nation and its people need to do something constructive to address their concerns, which is not just magnanimity, but it also is justice, writ large.