Why Are the Brave So Quiet?

In a time when writers are jailed, artists are attacked, and thinkers are threatened, you’d expect outrage. You’d expect an army of voices rising up in defense of freedom.

Instead, there’s silence.
Or worse — polite avoidance.

Many writers, journalists, and academics claim to value free speech. They speak of liberty at conferences, write essays on democracy, and quote famous dissidents — but when it comes to defending someone controversial, someone punished for speaking too boldly, they vanish.

Why?

Because silence is safe.
Because careers are fragile.
Because reputations are currency.
And because it’s easier to watch someone burn than to be seen standing beside them.

The intellectual class has become terrified of being associated with people who break taboos — especially religious ones. They distance themselves from outspoken critics of religion or patriarchy, calling them “too radical,” “too harsh,” or “not nuanced enough.” That’s a clever way to say: they make me uncomfortable.

But truth is not always polite. And change is never “nuanced” enough for those who fear losing comfort.

Courage is not just about speaking. It’s about speaking when it costs you something.

When a writer is exiled, a professor silenced, or a woman threatened for her voice — that’s when the test begins. Not when it’s fashionable to defend speech, but when it’s dangerous.

Many fail that test. They publish essays but avoid names. They support causes but abandon people. They watch others take the blows and stay safely behind the curtain.

I’ve lived this. I’ve watched those who once praised my writing disappear when it became inconvenient to defend me. I don’t need their sympathy. I needed their spine.

So if you’re a writer, thinker, or academic reading this — ask yourself:
Who are you afraid to support?
Because that’s exactly where your silence begins to mean something.