sounding our voices

Need some more encouragement to make your voice heard?  Matthew Foldi, writing in the Jerusalem Post, hits the nail on the head in describing the objective of pro-Hamas demonstrators:
 

They weren’t there to debate or defend their ideas.

They were there to end debate and discussion through intimidation. It is not knowledge they wished to share, but ignorance.

Matthew and a few other concerned people took a stand and staged a counter-rally at the cost of being harassed and abused both physically and verbally.  At the end of the day on his way home, regular folks who he met were supportive, sympathetic, and thankful.  It’s these average-Joes, not the screaming protestors who are featured on the news, who represent the true views of the American public.  The lesson Matthew learned:

My experience that day made me realize the power we all have, the things that we can accomplish simply by sounding our voices. The protesters wanted to silence and pretend away reality. But because of Manny [a Marine guard], and the Israeli tourists, and yes, even me, they failed.

After seeing my post of the protest on my Facebook page, that night friends I hadn’t spoken with in years, and even total strangers shared my post and thanked me for standing up for Israel. Simply by sounding my voice, I empowered them. Now, they said, they too will sound their own voices.