Dear thirty-year-old me,
You work there in your healthcare workplace and look around you. You see wrongs, but your colleagues urge you to stay quiet: “Don’t go looking for trouble.” You listen to them. You think that freedom of speech is a given that simply exists and requires nothing of you.
I want to tell you something you don’t yet understand: silence is not neutral. Every time you remain silent in the face of wrongs, you serve those who do wrong. Silence is taking a stance – you just don’t know it yet.
I know it’s frightening. When you decide to write your book Rankka kutsumus – Sairaanhoitajan päiväkirja (A Harsh Calling – A Nurse’s Diary), you’re warned: “You’ll be torn apart and nothing good can come of it.” You lie awake at night wondering whether you should publish the book anonymously or tell the facts as a fictional story.
Don’t be afraid.
When your book is published, nurses send you an enormous amount of positive feedback: “Finally someone speaks the truth.” You notice that even though there’s a nurses’ strike, journalists can’t find nurses to interview. Few want to step into the public eye. You understand for the first time that too many remain silent because they’re afraid and imagine that their actions don’t matter.
Later, when you stand up to defend wild animals from hunting, you receive hate mail. You’re harassed, threatened, belittled, and abused. People’s tolerance for differing opinions proves to be incredibly poor. You shouldn’t give criticism or you’ll immediately get attacked.
But do you know what? All of that teaches you the most important thing: the more dirt you get thrown at you, the better you’ve succeeded. Abuse is used to try to silence you – then you just need to get excited about drumming your message even louder.
Your own examples will be modest compared to human rights and democracy struggles, but all progress requires courage and principles. It is every citizen’s duty to act against the wrongs they observe. What is the meaning of life if we trample on our own values and don’t even try to make the world a better place to live?
Learn to value yourself and don’t let others’ insults hurt you. Words cannot wound if you don’t allow them to wound. In reality, very few are willing to speak up using their own names – it’s easy to shout from the bushes anonymously.
We must learn to listen to those who disagree with us and build bridges even when it seems impossible. A better world is built by speaking, not by remaining silent.
Courage to you, young me. You have something to say. Say it.
With love, Your future self
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Kaarina Davis is a non-fiction writer and nurse known for her bold statements on healthcare issues and nature conservation. Her books have sparked societal debate and she has been awarded the Contrarian of the Year recognition (2012), the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation’s Golden Feather award (2021), and received a Tieto-Finlandia nomination (2007).
