Then they came for me
I hadn't read this until metkat's recent post... this so perfectly sums up why I've been trying so hard to stay politically active and write my letters and form my opinions since the last election.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
Variation on Pastor Martin Niemoller's poem:
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
It's us. We - every human among us, and a few typing-ept cats - are the voice and the action that stops abuse, cruelty, oppression, tyranny and watchguards the innocent. If we aren't, we are the corroborater.
It's so much easier to focus on food on the table, laughter in the evening, work on a weekday, a good night's sleep in relative safety. I begin to think that our inclination to lead a happy, simple life is our single greatest advantage that we give to oppressors.
I'm not a pornographer, I'm not illiterate, I haven't yet been and am not in need of emergency contraceptive - but I have a voice and by the gods, I'm using it.
A's rabbi at Rosh Hashannah last week challenged everyone at synagogue to never stand by when they knew someone was being abused. Meddlesome, sure. Codependent, maybe. But at the end of the day, we can invest in each other or turn our backs on each other. I'll take the former.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
Variation on Pastor Martin Niemoller's poem:
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
It's us. We - every human among us, and a few typing-ept cats - are the voice and the action that stops abuse, cruelty, oppression, tyranny and watchguards the innocent. If we aren't, we are the corroborater.
It's so much easier to focus on food on the table, laughter in the evening, work on a weekday, a good night's sleep in relative safety. I begin to think that our inclination to lead a happy, simple life is our single greatest advantage that we give to oppressors.
I'm not a pornographer, I'm not illiterate, I haven't yet been and am not in need of emergency contraceptive - but I have a voice and by the gods, I'm using it.
A's rabbi at Rosh Hashannah last week challenged everyone at synagogue to never stand by when they knew someone was being abused. Meddlesome, sure. Codependent, maybe. But at the end of the day, we can invest in each other or turn our backs on each other. I'll take the former.