We had a very similar prompt to this one back in September. Check out what I previously wrote about being a leader HERE.
I like to think of myself as a leader. I try to be a leader anyway. I don’t always take the lead in every situation in find myself in in my life. At the same time, I’m well aware that there are A LOT of people out there who want to take action; but they’re too scared to stand alone. They are afraid to speak up; at least until someone else does.
About 15 years ago when I was till living in South Carolina, I served my first and only stint of jury duty. The defendant was charged with weapons possession (it was a violation of his probation). The whole story sounded kind of shady to begin with; as witnesses were refusing to snitch. After about 2 hours of discussing this with my fellow jurors, I finally said “look. Something here doesn’t add up. I think he’s probably guilty; but I can’t convict the guy because I’m ‘pretty sure’ he probably did it.”
I actually got into a little bit of an argument with one of the other jurors. He had said point-blank, that he was okay convicting someone who he was “pretty sure was guilty”. I said to him, and the rest of the jury that somethings still weren’t adding up for me and that I was willing to hang the jury myself if it came down to it. As I said this, 4 other jurors also spoke up in favor of a not-guilty verdict. As a group, we decided that we were a hung jury. We were dismissed, an, I don’t know what ultimately happened to the defendant.
I wasn’t trying to make this my “Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men” moment, but I could not convict this person beyond a reasonable doubt – per the instructions of the court. I’m not saying this to suggest that I’m some charismatic and inspirational leader. But my bigger point here is that when other members of the jury heard me speak up, they found the voices as well. Who knows how we would have ruled if I chose to not speak my mind.
Why are we like this as people? Why are we so afraid of what people will think when we speak our mind? Why are we so scared that saying what we feel will go over like a fart in a church? I probably bite my tongue more than I care to admit. But like so many other situations in life, our fear of how we’ll be received is often worse than any reception we actually get.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:
- Thoughts that keep me up at night
- Requiem for a mall
- what makes a great teacher
- The O.R. Virgin
- A Day in the Life of Rob
The article “One Angry Man” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
Rebuilding Rob 
Leave a comment