Silence can be tranquil, calming, and much wanted yet it can also be a mask, deceitful, and a sign of ignorance. In the genocide of another country, silence will be viewed as a sign of peace and neutrality by some, when it’s just a form of allowing the country to continue suffering. Something like silence might seem like a little thing, but it can contribute to a bigger problem that can end in tragedy. It’s essential to understand when it’s appropriate to stay silent and when your voice is needed because both can change the tides of a situation. Silence also prevents people from gaining information about various topics through someone’s opinion–which is impactful. If someone is entering a workplace that you know is toxic, you could either save them through the trouble of facing that environment so that they could find a better job or let them simmer in the problems that you know they will face and make their quality of life worse. 

Silence in the wrong situations is not only a green light to oppression, chaos, and a barricade to life-changing information–but it is also a part of the nine circles of Hell, more appropriately Limbo, the first circle of hell. Limbo is for those who are ignorant and morally indecisive. So, like the examples I mentioned of silence, knowing that something horrible is happening in the world or around you but ignorantly staying silent or staying “neutral” because you don’t know what side to choose (in obvious situations) would fit into Limbo. Now you know that silence is an enabler to bad, a gatekeeper to information, and one of the traits of Limbo. This isn’t a criticism of all types of silence but is a reminder that even silence has the same power of words, and that power doesn’t always lead to good.

Woman shushing with a finger, photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash