Power of Silence??

Who are true friends? This question really got me thinking a lot today. Throughout my entire day I would hear individuals who are apparently friends bashing each other behind backs. It was actually kind of amusing, but really sad as well. I tried to dissect different ways of looking at this one thing that relates to a lot of other things. For example, is loyalty harder today than it was two or three hundred years ago? If you say yes, is that a cop out excuse? Human nature is to engage with other human beings. We are social mammals that adore interaction and conversation. If one goes against that nature is he/she more powerful or disciplined? I went from the back stabbing of friends to avoiding everyone and not talking at all. This is not the solution that I am prosing, it is just something that is relative to one another in my mind.
I first started questioning the power of silence after reading an interview with Alice Walker. She talked about how the world would not be what it is today without those individuals who isolate themselves and live in solitude. Many individuals would characterize me as as loud, outspoken individual; nevertheless the topic interested me a lot. Having friends that aren't truly friends, having interaction that is taunted and not real could be equivalent to solitude itself. Are people scared to be alone? Think about it, one can always talk to someone else in some way, shape, or form; whether it be through a text, email, chat, call, skype,or just seeing someone every single day with a combination to the things listed above. Why deal with interaction when interaction can be equivocal to loneliness itself. A leaf is alone on a tree even though there are other leaves around it. Despite this, one leaf is still significant, it is still a vital part of the entire tree. The big picture. I didn't mean to get all Walt Whitman, but my main point is that eventually a leaf falls of a tree. One could argue that the leaf dies because of falling off the tree, or one could argue that as the leaf withers away and helps other leaves to form. Maybe this is sacrifice, maybe its a cycle, whatever way you want to look at it solitude serves equal significance to the loud noise that embodies and distracts the human mind. It can be argued that it is even more important, more relevant because it is against common human behavior. Because we as humans crave voice, love, attention, interaction.. etc.. when one goes against that notation and accepts solitude. Is he a coward to the people around him? Or is he stronger than the average human being?  Maybe both. What can a man do when the world rejects him than just sit in solitude and think of the limitless dimensions. The world beyond the world.