Introverts of the world – or at least the ones reading this book – for too long we have been marginalized by a society that values talkative, engaging people with competent social skills.

It is time we collectively rise up and say under our breaths, “No More!”

Together we can show the world that introverts are more than quiet people who prefer to stay at home and read a book. We also like to stay at home and watch TV, write in our journals, and defrost our refrigerators.

Movements that change the world often begin with mass rallies designed to excite and motivate followers. Since large gatherings are the last place introverts want to be, let’s recite from the privacy of our homes the Silent Revolution Declaration of Purpose:

• If I see something, I will say nothing (for reasons altogether different from the Mafia Declaration of Purpose).
• If a friend wants to know if I’m interested in going to a party, I will screen her phone call and not answer it.
• Whenever I am in a diner or a park reading and someone asks, “Is that a good book?”, I will act as though I can’t hear them.
• At work, I will always pretend I’m taking an important phone so no one bothers me.
• If someone still insists on bothering me while I’m pretending to take an important phone call, I will pretend to say, “How much longer does he have to live?”
• If I can’t find a chair in the back of the room, I will sit in my car.
• Whenever someone asks, “Why are you so quiet?” I will try not to scream, “Because I have nothing to say!” – but I won’t try very hard.