First They Came!

We read First They Came back in our school days; we read it every so often after that. We think about it from time to time for a few minutes, and then move on. Life is busy!

Martin Niemoller, a German Lutheran Pastor wrote his “confessional prose” about his cowardice following the Nazi’s rise to power in Germany before and during WWII.

          “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out –

          because I was not a socialist.

 

          Then they came for the trade unionist, and I did not speak out –

          because I was not a trade unionist.

 

          Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –

          because I was not a Jew.

 

          Then they came for me –

          and there was no one left to speak for me.”

 

I wondered if something written in 1936 could apply to our lives nearly 90 years later.

         First they came for the Ukrainians, and I did not speak out –

because I was not a Ukrainian.

 

Then they came for the journalist, and I did not speak out –

because I am not a journalist.

 

Then they came for …