If you are afraid of being lonely, don’t try to be right…. Jules Renard

Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it…. Leo Tolstoy

Right is right even if no one else is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it…Augustine of Hippo

Last year, I was forced to make a decision and take a stand for something that I knew in my heart was the right thing to do.  It was a decision that affected many aspects of my life and that of my family.  I was so passionate about this issue, that  I took it to the highest level that I could take it, which meant that it also affected other people.  I do not regret this decision – because I was right.  

I was not alone in my fight; however, now that the dust has settled, it has left me very much alone and lonely, which is different from being alone.  Those of us who fought the fight together have moved on as much as possible.

I think the bitterness that remains with me is due to the fact that I felt abandoned by some people who were very important to me-people I felt should have stood by my side-taken my side…yet, they did not. These people did not tell me I was wrong-they were just unwilling to stand up for what was right.  Some people had valid reasons.   Perhaps the situation did not directly affect them and they did not want to get involved….Others had no where else to turn…

I was happy.  I think it’s important to note that.  I was happy for the first time in a long time.  I had made friends-something that is not easy for me.  I was good at what I was doing and I enjoyed it.  I was making a difference.  And then I was was lied to.   I was expected to lie down and take it.  I refused.  Instead, I fought back in every single way I knew how, and none of it made a difference.  I still lost.  I lost everything that I had helped build for the past 4 years.  And I was still expected to sit there and keep my mouth shut.  I refused again.

Now, I still live where I live.  I run into people I used to see every day.  We smile and say “hello” and move on quickly, when we would have stopped for a moment and exchanged a few words.  I am the pariah because I told the truth and had proof to back it up.  And now I am alone.  Would I do it again? Oh hell yes.  I did it for my child. And all of the others.  It’s everyone else who should be living with regret.  Right is right even if no one else is doing it.