The following Post was initially published a few years ago on “Breath Free”.
Given the circumstances of the last year or so
Domestically, and in Foreign relationships
both with our historic Allies, and those who wish us ill,
I thought this was a very appropriate time
to republish “On Speaking Out!”.
First the Nazis Came
“First the Nazis came for the Communists,
And I did not speak out –
For I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists,
And I did not speak out –
For I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
And I did not speak out –
For I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
And I did not speak out –
For I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me –
And there was no one left –
To speak out for me.”
The above poem (with certain variations of it from time to time), was written by Martin Niemoller, 1892 -1984. As for Niemoller, there is much controversy surrounding him: his beliefs, when he wrote the poem – even questions as to his authorship of it. A German, he served in their Navy during the First World War.
Some years after the end of the War he decided to study Theology. He also became a strong Nationalist and Racist. So much so that in the early 1920’s he found a compatible voice in Adolph Hitler, and became a follower. Even voting for the Nazi Party in the 1924 election.
By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Niemoller had become an ordained Pastor in the Lutheran Church. In his sermons, he praised Hitler on his views of German Nationalism and Racism, of which Niemoller was in complete accord. However, when the Nazi leader started attacking the Protestant Church, Niemoller quickly became a very vocal critic of Hitler.
In 1937, Hitler arrested Niemoller and sent him and other Religious activists to concentration camps, where he survived throughout the Second World War, until liberated by the Allies in 1945. After the end of the war, Niemoller became very active in urging the German population to acknowledge it’s complicity in the Holocaust.
A second quote relative to speaking out is:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
This has been attributed to Edmund Burke, or John Stuart Mill, and perhaps one or two others. Whomever it may some day prove to be, I will leave to the “Quotation Investigators.” For me the beauty and truth of it stands for itself.
- Fortunately, and thanks to our Founding Fathers, we citizens of the Republic of the United States of America, never had to contend internally with the Evilness of an Adolph Hitler – and probably never will – assuming we never lose the words, light and reasoning of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution – imperfect though they may be. Furthermore, our history shows that we Americans have never been short of speaking out, when our Liberties and Laws appeared to be threatened and curtailed by domestic individual or group ideologies.
- Today, we may, or may not, have ideologues (either on the political left, or the right) to deal with – that’s a Philosophical and political term that, for now, I will leave to the philosophers and politicians. But we have many major issues confronting all of us in the upcoming Congressional elections this year and the Presidential and Congressional Elections of 2020. – more major issues than we have had in the last 50 years.
- Wherever we are on the political, economic or social spectrum: Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, Capitalist, Socialist or Anarchist – how we vote, whether we speak out — will have major consequences impacting us Politically, Economically, Socially, Militarily, Philosophically and probably even more so – how we will be Governed.
One of the advantages of living in a free Republic, is that every individual has the opportunity to choose to participate – or not, to some degree in the process of governing. It may be only through one’s vote, or more aggressively as a dissident, activist, or revolutionist.
All of those in our past, and those currently so, did and can, truly change the nature of how we are governed. If you think that one or two activists can hardly change the course of government – think again:
- The Anti-slavery Movement in Colonial America started small, years before our Revolution. But it continued to grow over the ensuing decades in strength and vehemence – culminating in a Civil War of incalculable horror to end the immoral and pernicious act of Slavery. Followed by the four Amendments to the Constitution to give them their full Constitutional rights as citizens of the United States. Sadly, it took some 90 years after our Declaration of Independence declared that, “..all men are created equal”, for our country to partly accept the truth of that statement.
- Women’s Suffrage Movement, once again started in Colonial times with a few individual women, culminating in the 19th Amendment, giving all women the right to vote.
- Prohibition. The seeds of the movement to make the sale, production etc. of Liquors illegal, were first sown in the 1820’s and 1830’s. Interrupted during the Civil War, the movement grew once again, until Prohibition was passed as the 18th Amendment in 1920. Unfortunately, Criminal chaos ensued, until the 18th Amendment was, thankfully, repealed in 1933.
And nothing illustrates more the power of speaking out, than the confluence of voices doing so to create our Revolution of 1776, and the same for all the Civil Rights Movements from the 1950’s and 1960’s, through the ensuing years to today.
All of those Movements started with a few voices speaking out. It may have taken decades, or as we have just noted, a century or more, but those initial few voices speaking out, gathered multitudes of sympathetic voices, dissidents, and activists. And they all ultimately culminated in successfully changing, not only our Constitution, but also the lives of untold millions. I would say they are pretty powerful examples of accomplishment.
Obviously, from what sits at the beginning of my blog site, I am a fervent believer in Free Will and Choice for every individual. So each of us has the choice: to vote – or not, speak out – or not, become even more aggressive as a dissident or activist – or not. Once again, the choice is ours.
To each of us reading this – there is one Caveat:
If you choose nothing, then you leave the field of governance to others. I would hope you, and everyone reading this has a belief system. Do you really want to leave something so precious as your very Life and Beliefs to the control and governance of others?
Others, whose belief systems may be diametrically opposed to yours!
BREATHE FREE 