That dare we also say

It is written, "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak... 2 Corinthians 4:13. I've been a fan of this verse for a while. Believe it? Speak it. Declare it. Blog it. Wear it on a T-shirt if you have to. But speaking out may come at a price. In looking back over the past year, Reporters Without Borders have declared 2006 the "deadliest year since 1994. They note:

In 2006
81 journalists and 32 media assistants were killed
at least 871 were arrested
1,472 physically attacked or threatened
56 kidnapped
and 912 media outlets censored

Iraq was the world’s most dangerous country for the media for the fourth year running, with 64 journalists and media assistants killed… The second most dangerous country was Mexico.

...About 30 bloggers were arrested during the year and held for several weeks, notably in China, Iran and Syria. Egypt appeared for the first time on the "enemies of the Internet" list for its growing crackdown on bloggers who criticised Islam or President Hosni Mubarak.

Reporting can be dangerous. Speaking out against systemic justice requires courage. Yet I want to say Amen to this poem-

We will speak out: we will be heard,
Though all earth's systems crack.
We will not bate a single word,
Nor take a letter back.
We speak the Truth, and what care we,
For hissing and for scorn,
While some faint gleamings we can see
Of Freedom's coming morn.
Let liars fear; let cowards shrink;
Let traitors turn away.
Whatever we have dared to think
That dare we also say.

John Wesley
(cited in John Smith's introduction to Ash Barker's Make Poverty Personal.)