The Twilight Zone

The scariest silence isn’t the absence of sound, its the absence of courage.

Having been working in social services for a quarter century, I've seen some pretty strange stuff. But every now and then, work and life ratchet it up a notch and really slip into that Twilight Zone territory. Not with aliens or time machines, mind you, but with something far stranger and much more insidious. It doesn't happen too often. Thank goodness! But every now and then you find yourself standing in a room where everyone else is smiling, laughing, clinking glasses, and talking about the weather, while right in front of you, someone is being ignored, dismissed, or outright mistreated because another had decided they weren't worth the air they were breathing. And here's the real unsettling part: nobody seems to notice. Or if they do, they've agreed, silently, not to care.

It's like the room signed a contract you and/or your client never got to read. The work day continues, or the music plays, or the small talk just keeps on flowing, and somehow you're the lone person who feels the draft of something odd and cold creeping under the door. You try to catch another pair of eyes, to find some acknowledgment that this is really happening, but everyone else looks away at the exact same moment, like a flock of birds turning midair.

There's no polite word for it. It's bizarre. Like stepping into a carnival funhouse where the mirrors are warped just enough to make you question your own reflection. Are you imagining it? Is it really happening? If it is, then why is everyone else carrying on as though kindness itself hasn't been shoved into the corner and told to sit quietly?

I don't think this is rare. It happens in families, in workplaces, in pews and classrooms more often than we care to admit. A group decides, often without ever saying so, that one or two people are expendable. That silence is safer than honesty. That mistreatment is tolerable so long as the job gets done, conversation keeps it light, and the dessert trays keep circulating.

And the person who feels it most, the one who sees it most clearly, feels like a ghost at the feast. They're there, bewildered, watching the charade unfold, wondering how everyone else learned to dance so easily to a broken tune.

And here's the real danger: When people don't act as they should, when the whole world says something is right that is actually very wrong, when they tell you this is just how it's going to be, and you either move or will get pushed aside, well friends, that's when the choice lands squarely on us. We can nod along with the crowd, or we can dig our heels into the dirt, plant our feet firmly into the ground, and say, "No, you move." Because simply going along with those who mistreat others doesn't ease the pain or solve the problem, it only lets the hurt they are inflicting keep spreading further. Kindness without honesty isn't love. And courage is rarely easy.

Now, people will say, "I don't want to make a scene," or "Now's not the right time." And sure, wisdom matters. Timing matters. But can we be honest? Most of the time, those kinds of statements are a cover for not speaking the truth about a painful situation while it is happening. They're a way of letting harm keep its seat at the table a little longer. Not speaking up doesn't keep the peace; it just keeps the wound open.

There's a world of difference between waiting for the right words, waiting for the right time, and waiting forever. So, if kindness without honesty isn't love, then silence in the face of wrongdoing isn't peace. It's just permission.

I can't offer a solution wrapped in a bow. But I can say this: if you've ever found yourself in that kind of Twilight Zone moment, where the world insists everything is fine while your soul whispers it's not, you're not alone. Please, talk to somebody about it. Anybody, Heck, reach out to me if need be. And if you happen to be on the other side, smiling with the crowd, remember that someone near you may be carrying the weight of being unseen.

The real act of bravery isn't always in the spotlight; sometimes it's in the quiet glance that tells a person they are seen and aren't forgotten.

The world may slip into the Twilight Zone without warning, but kindness and courage can pull it back.

Well, that's today's dispatch. From the dusty corners and the quiet places, keep the faith, friends, and pass it on.