What We Lose if We Stay Silent
I want to leave behind a world where dignity, justice, and human rights are not fragile or conditional.
Fifty-five and a half years ago, the first squall came forth from my lungs when a doctor held me up for my mother to see. My father waited in a room somewhere down the hall. So much has changed since then. For one, fathers started joining mothers in the delivery room around that time, and it’s almost unheard of now for them to skip the action.
So much has changed in the world as well. Four years before my birth, President Lyndon B. Johnson had signed the Voting Rights Act into law, which bans discriminatory voting requirements (like literacy).1 This was an era of change, for sure.
One year before I was born, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated after working tirelessly for equal rights for all Americans. The work he began continued forward.
When I was four years old, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) of 1974 was signed into law by President Ford. Until 1974, banks could refuse women a credit card or loan without a male co-signer—such as a husband, brother, father, uncle, or friend—even if she had proof she could repay the loan.2 The ECOA specifically banned discrimination against a financial borrower based on sex or marital status. As a 2025 freelancer and business owner, that’s unfathomable to me!
That would be amended two years later:
“In 1976 Congress passed a bill, H.R. 6516, titled “Equal Credit Opportunity Act Amendments of 1976,” that amended the ECOA to include the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, and receipt of public assistance benefits. Thus, when considering applicants for a loan, banks were required to consider their creditworthiness only.”3
Want to hear more after you finish reading? Check out today’s podcast episode:
Advancements in the Last Half-Century
When I look through historical records, it’s amazing to see what advances have happened just in my lifetime. At midlife, we tend to see the world differently. We’ve lived long enough to witness real progress—changes that once seemed impossible become reality. We may remember when doors were closed, when voices went unheard, and when certain freedoms weren’t guaranteed. Perhaps we heard the stories often. Or perhaps we didn’t because our circles were isolated from the issues at large.
A few statistics:4
In 1969, the year I was born, 156 countries signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Refugee Act of 1980 regulated US asylum policy for refugees (signed by President Jimmy Carter).
In the late 1990s, Nelson Mandela worked to end apartheid (or “apartness” in the language of Afrikaans) in South Africa, a system of legislation that upheld segregation against non-white citizens of South Africa.5
In 2007, members of the UN signed the declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In 2007, 177 parties of the United Nations signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Numerous other advances have been put forth to protect human rights from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ability, and more—both in the US and around the world.
I’ve been musing about some of these things lately because midlifers like me have lived long enough to know that progress isn’t permanent. It must be protected.
With age, I see the cycles. I recognize how easily gains can be undone and understand that if we stay silent, we risk leaving the next generation with fewer freedoms than we had.
Breaking the Silence
From the time I took that first breath and let out a squall, I’ve been speaking. A lot. Too much sometimes. I have opinions on everything and nothing important to say all at the same time.
But I need to make a confession: I was one of those who lived in a protected and isolated circle for most of my life. Lived oblivious to what rights I had that others didn’t or at what cost those advances came. I’m ashamed that I didn’t look up and out beyond my scope, not even in my years at a state university.
Two weeks ago, I had no words. But a stilled tongue allows eyes to take it all in. Ears to hear the cries.
And now, I’m surveying the bigger picture, and there’s a knot in my stomach. What did I miss? Why wasn’t I paying attention? In just a few weeks, I’ve seen protections unravel that took decades to establish. I didn’t know that could happen. Recent executive actions have hit me hard at the core. And I’ve silently watched it happen.
I know not everyone will agree with me. I know speaking up carries risk. But silence has a cost too.
This isn’t about party lines or political affiliations. It’s about people. It’s about the dignity of every human being and the fundamental belief that rights and freedoms should not be erased with the stroke of a pen.
Progress isn’t just measured in laws passed or policies enacted—it’s measured in the lives protected, the opportunities expanded, and the voices that are finally heard. We still have so far to go. When protections vanish overnight, we don’t just lose policies; we lose people’s trust, security, and ability to live freely. That hurts us all.
Coming Together for the Future
You don’t have to agree. But I ask you to listen. To look beyond disagreements and see the people impacted. I speak because I can’t pretend this moment doesn’t matter.
Midlife is a time when we stop asking only, Where am I going? and start asking, What am I leaving behind? I want to leave behind a world where dignity, justice, and human rights are not fragile, not conditional, and not erased in an instant.
That’s why I won’t be silent. And if you believe, as I do, that human dignity is worth defending, then let’s raise our voices together.
https://www.thoughtco.com/civil-rights-movement-timeline-from-1965-to-1969-45431
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/03/22/on-the-basis-of-sex-equal-credit-opportunities/
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/03/22/on-the-basis-of-sex-equal-credit-opportunities/
https://www.businessinsider.com/human-rights-milestones-2018-12#april-1-1980-the-refugee-act-of-1980-regulated-us-asylum-policy-for-refugees-15
https://www.history.com/topics/africa/apartheid
Thank you for sharing, Amy!
Thanks for this, Michelle; so many of us are struggling to figure out what we can do -- but we must be persistent in assuring that the rights of all are not taken away.