First they wiretapped and came for the Muslims....

[liberalhistorian]

and I do not need to speak up because I am not a Muslim and, therefore, have nothing to hide
(they're all terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, anyway, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the anti-war activists, the peace groups, and all of their family, friends, and sympathizers, and I do not need to speak up because I am neither an anti-war activist nor a sympathizer and, therefore, have nothing to hide.
(their unpatriotic, un-American, treasonous actions give aid and comfort to our enemies, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the environmentalists; and I do not need to speak up because I am not an environmentalist and, therefore, have nothing to hide.
(their activism against the drilling of the ANWR, and their insistence on lessening our dependence on oil and on conservation is un-American, gives aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the university professors, and I do not need to speak up because I am not a university professor and, therefore, have nothing to hide
(their ceaseless, unpatriotic liberal indoctrination of their naive, innocent students is breeding an entire generation that will give aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the scientists, and I do not need to speak up because I am not a scientist and, therefore, have nothing to hide
(their unpatriotic, un-American refusal to acknowledge the One True Creator and the One True Leader, their tree-hugging insistence on the scientific validity of global warming and rapid, severe climate change, and their insistence on continuing with their stem-cell research and creating "human-animal hybrids" gives aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the labor union members, and I do not need to speak up because I was not a labor union member and, therefore, have nothing to hide
(their insistence on workers having rights, including fair and appropriate working conditions, proper safety precautions, and fair wages they can actually live on, simply creates a workforce that will want to be too independent, and therefore give aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the teachers, and I do not need to speak up because I am not a teacher and, therefore, have nothing to hide
(their apparent overall liberal bent coupled with their defiance of the No Child Left Behind Act, will breed citizens who will give aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the non-fundamentalist clergy, and I do not need to speak up because I am not a non-fundamentalist clergy member and, therefore, have nothing to hide.
(their refusal to adhere to the One True Doctrine and the One True Leader, and their activism in defiance of those who do, will breed parishioners who will be too independent and thus give aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for those who posted on subversive, unpatriotic websites, and I do not need to speak up because I do not post on subversive, unpatriotic websites, and, therefore, have nothing to hide
(those who do demonstrate a refusal to conform to the One True Doctrine and thus give aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for the Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, Independents, and any other political subversives, and I do not need to speak up because I am not a member of any of those parties, and therefore had nothing to hide
(political subversives, of course, give aid and comfort to the enemy, so it's vital to our National Security to watch them)

Then they wiretapped and came for.............

Hello? Is there anyone who can speak for me?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. classic with a modern twist.

Thanks!

[liberalhistorian]

2. It just came to me

tonight, all at once. I saw the documentary on Dietrich Bonhoeffer on PBS Monday night, so I guess that got my mind to thinking about it. Martin Niemoller, who wrote the "First they came for the Jews", etc., was a colleague of Bonhoeffer's, and a fellow resistance clergy member.

[MadMaddie]

3. This should be published....

This is right on the money. I am bookmarking it..I think you should get it published, it's really good. We should be mailing this to the unions, environmentalist and everyone else you noted. We need a message like this pushed to the masses.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[liberalhistorian]

4. Like I said, I'm really

surprised at how quickly it just seemed to come to me, faster than I could type, even. I have several friends and family members who all feel the same way, and many are members of some of the groups mentioned; they're really getting scared, and I had that in mind when I was writing it, also.

[Wordie]

5. An excellent updating of a classic. Recommended. eom

[BrotherBuzz]

6. Pastor Martin Niemöller smiles

I sent it far and wide with a few filter tags added (not that your piece doesn't already contain a few ;)) to insure our friends at NSA might read and reflect upon it.

[liberalhistorian]

7. Well, that would be nice if they

WOULD reflect on it, because they sure need to do so. I remember when I first started studying nazi Germany, WWII, and the Holocaust, back in high school after I read the Ann Frank diary. I remember being especially impressed with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his resistance colleages, including Niemoller (it's always been especially tragic to me that Bonhoeffer was executed on April 9, 1945, just weeks before the camp was liberated).

Never, ever, in a hundred million years, did I think we'd be facing this kind of situation in this country.

[BrotherBuzz]

8. Karl Barth's Barmen Declaration merits reflection, too

I was raised in the United Church of Christ and although the religious aspect didn't necessarily root, the the significance of the Barmen Declaration DID! My eyes are wide open and I weep as I watch us being swept into dangerous waters.

The Barmen Declaration, 1934, was a call to resistance against the theological claims of the Nazi state. Almost immediately after Hitler's seizure of power in 1933, Protestant Christians faced pressure to "aryanize" the Church, expel Jewish Christians from the ordained ministry and adopt the Nazi "Führer Principle" as the organizing principle of church government. In general, the churches succumbed to these pressures, and some Christians embraced them willingly. The pro-Nazi "German Christian" movement became a force in the church. They glorified Adolf Hitler as a "German prophet" and preached that racial consciousness was a source of revelation alongside the Bible. But many Christians in Germany—including Lutheran and Reformed, liberal and neo-orthodox—opposed the encroachment of Nazi ideology on the Church's proclamation. At Barmen, this emerging "Confessing Church" adopted a declaration drafted by Reformed theologian Karl Barth and Lutheran theologian Hans Asmussen, which expressly repudiated the claim that other powers apart from Christ could be sources of God's revelation. Not all Christians courageously resisted the regime, but many who did—like the Protestant pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Roman Catholic priest Bernhard Lichtenberg—were arrested and executed in concentration camps. The spirituality of the Barmen Declaration profoundly influenced many of the first generation of pastors and laypeople who formed the United Church of Christ in 1957.

http://www.ucc.org/faith/barmen.htm

[liberalhistorian]

13. Yes, that was a really

terrible time for any German Christian who saw the injustice and the terror of what was happening. Far too many churches either fell under the spell of the nazis, or were too cowardly to do anything more than remain silently on the sidelines or pander to the government.

There was resistance, of course, and representatives of about 100 churches even marched in Berlin, then signed a resistance declaration that was the basis for creating the Church of the Confessor. That took a tremendous amount of courage at that time, considering resistance and dissent could easily bring death or lengthy imprisonment. As a liberal Christian myself, I have no use for either the RW fundies or those who are too cowardly to stand up and speak out against injustice, particularly when it is directed against a minority group.

Bonhoeffer believed it was important for Christians to attempt to protect persecuted groups and to prevent injustice against them, even if they are not members of the Christian community. It was important, he believed, to not just attempt to slow the wheel of government tyranny and injustice against certain groups, but to "jam a spoke in the wheel itself"; this was spoken in his first major speech to a religious group in the 1930's, "On the Question of the Church and the Jews."

[BrotherBuzz]

28. The Free Synod of Barmen (Barmen II) created the Church of the Confessor

A combined synod of Reformed and Evangelical/Lutheran churches was held at Barmen. This was the famous national synod Barmen II. Twenty-six provincial churches had sent representatives. All the 138 delegates were examined before entering to make sure that no "German Christians" were present, and the members of the synod were to sign red membership cards and keep them on their persons at all times. (Ultimately all members of confessing churches were asked to sign and carry such a membership card.)

The synod accepted the "Barmen Declaration," which had been written by Karl Barth and two Lutheran theologians. Consisting of six articles or theses, this declaration rejected the false doctrines of the "German Christians" and recalled the churches to the central truths of Bible and confessions. It also rejected the totalitarian claims of the state, as well as the official church's reliance on the state. Thesis 5 read:

We reject the false doctrine that the State . . . should and could become the single and totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the Church's vocation as well.

We reject the false doctrine that the Church . . . should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State.

http://spindleworks.com/library/peet/german.htm

.....

I can't find any reference to the marches in Berlin other then the 'German Christians' gathering under Hitler's appointed ass, Ludwig Mueller, where 20,000 'German Christians' shed all their inhibitions and showed their radical colours for all to see and became the followers of Christ the conqueror. Their champions were not "the crucified Christ" but "King Christ and the Fuehrer."

Cripes, history is making a full circle.

[liberalhistorian]

29. I know, the full circle

sure is frightening, isn't it? And just as it was then, and as is always the case with these situations, there are churches and religious leaders who kiss ass with the state and demand their followers do the same, and there are those brave churches and religious leaders who are courageous and truly religious enough to reject that and to call their followers to really and truly emulate Christ and stand up against the tyranny of the state and its treatment and/or persecution of minority groups, and stand up for what is right.

[McKenzie]

9. First they came for the hackers.

But I never did anything
illegal with my computer, so I didn't speak up.
Then they came for the pornographers. But I thought there was
too much smut on the Internet anyway, so I didn't speak up.
Then they came for the anonymous remailers. But a lot of nasty
stuff gets sent from anon.penet.fi, so I didn't speak up.
Then they came for the encryption users. But I could never
figure out how to work PGP anyway, so I didn't speak up.
Then they came for me. And by that time there was no one left
to speak up.

Alara Rogers

We all need to speak out every time there is a threat to free speech or liberty.

Good post with many, thought-provoking points.

[T_Matamoro]

11. Free speech? or fear?

I noticed quote "We all need to speak out every time there is a threat to free speech or liberty."
Would you include the "arab streets" attack on Denmark and that paper posten-illyand in that bold statement you made?
I belive that Bush broke the law when he issued warrentless wiretaps and needs to be impeached for it (not going to happen)
But this cartoon rage tops off all the news lately, more important than wiretaps ever could be. Fear of bombings and beheadings could chill freedom in this country 1000 more than the NSA ever could. The plain fact to me is that the middle east just does'nt "get it" and they will continue to threaten and cajole everytime they are offended. If i could Step up and do something besides write internet posts and buy danish cheese (i dunno what im gonna do with this pile of cheese i bought in my local market :)) i would! if i had a paper i would post the pics tomorrow. And i ain't scared of those cowards either. I think you should add to this list "first they beheaded the danish cartoonists but i was'nt a cartoonist so i did'nt speak up............."

[liberalhistorian]

14. Good job!

Very good points; the searching of millions of random computer search engine searches, and the actual recording of IP addresses, is especially scary in this day and age.

[Hekate]

10. Thanks for this. Well said...

K&R

Hekate

[NMMNG]

12. Excellent update of the classic

Eloquent and chilling. You should definitely submit this to a variety of papers and magazines for publication.

[bryant69]

15. This is eerie

I just read this exact source ripped off by the right wing this week. Only in their case it was about muslims - first they came after the jews, then the coptic christians then the Americans and when they finally got around to the poor europeons, there was nobody left to stand up for them.

The problem with the slippery slope argument (which this is a variation of) is that it kind of works for any argument.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[liberalhistorian]

25. Sometimes, however,

it's the truth. When Niemoller wrote the original, he was speaking from very painful experience.

[bryant69]

26. Sometimes it is the truth.

And of course Niemoller's origional is spot on.

But he was speaking from what had personally experienced.

The pastiches of his work are usually used to predict future events.

Bryant

[liberalhistorian]

27. You have a point,

but sometimes the comparisons are spot on. And sometimes they can serve as a forewarning to people, one that allows them to see the possibilities of what might happen if they continue down a certain path.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. lovely!

[liberalhistorian]

17. Hey, GPV, that's an interesting

link! I think it's important now more than ever for liberal, non-fundie Christians to stick together. I'd be glad to help with the site in any way, if it's needed.

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. Thanks. :^) I have to finish moving the rest of it in there, but then I

expect to open up a blog section so we can have some new content to go along with the links directory. :)

[liberalhistorian]

19. That would be great!

And thanks for all your hard work getting it together, it is desperately needed now.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Yes, it certainly is. I got so tired of conservatives telling me that they

own Jesus, morality, whatever.. just had to do something about it. x(

[liberalhistorian]

21. I know! Believe me,

I know EXACTLY what you mean; and it's always been obvious to me that none of them have actually ever read the New Testament. They're the type who would have been Pharisees in Christ's time.

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Yeah.. I have a modern-day pharisees section on the site just for them *g*

[liberalhistorian]

23. I've bookmarked it and am

anxious to check it out in detail when I get the chance. There are also several other people I've told about it, if you don't mind (hey, the more, the merrier)!

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. Nope, I don't mind. :^)

[liberalhistorian]

30. I just started looking at it in more

detail, it's really great so far. It's just what we need, too! We need to show that not all Christians are hate-filled fundies. You should have a section on there about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Father Lichtenberg, Martin Niemoller, Corrie Ten Boom, and all the other Christians who risked death or paid the ultimate price for having the courage to really live their Christian principles by standing up for what was right and actively working against the tyranny of the state and the persecution of certain groups.

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. You are right. I should add them to the social justice section.

[liberalhistorian]

32. I could work on getting something

together for that section, if you want. There's plenty of good material for that section.

BTW, did you know that there's a "Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society?" It's international, they have members of all kinds, from all professions, and from over 25 countries. I found it when I googled him the other day after seeing the PBS documentary.

[GreenPartyVoter]

33. That would be lovely if you could. I make the pages in notepad so

that there is no html to mess with the template. Just the basic bold (though mambo calls it strong), italics, paragraphs, breaks, and hyperlinks. If it's a mega-site I grab a paragraph from their about page, if it's an article I say where it's from and grab the most interesting blurb from the write-up. Or you can send me what I use for my notes and then I code it in the WYSIWYG editor after the fact:

Category: Social Justice

Mega-sites:


Articles:
What’s the Use of the Bible? From Radical Faith http://homepages.which.net/~radical.faith/holloway/gresham%202%20pt%201.htm ”How can those who haven't found ultimate answers use the Bible? What happens when we question the underlying
assumptions of fundamentalism?”

or this: Either is good. You can drop it here at DU in my inbox. :)


<strong>Ecology</strong></p>
<p><strong></strong><a href="http://www.earthministry.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Earth Ministry:</strong></a>   "..our mission
statement calls us as people of faith – seeing something of the Divine
in creation – to live reverently and respectfully.  It asks us to
examine our individual and societal impacts on both the human and
non-human world, and to alter our life patterns to reflect God’s loving
concern.  It calls us to speak out against injustice, to stand
with the powerless and voiceless, and to work actively in the causes of
justice and peace."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nacce.org/" target="_blank"><strong>
North American Coalition for Christians and Ecology:</strong></a> 
"The continuing devastation of Earth is a crisis
of the human spirit. To address this crisis:   a) We will
invite people into a loving
relationship with Earth through the formation of local earthkeeping
circles.  b) We will teach reverence for God's
creation, with the understanding that humans are embedded in the
natural world.  c) We will cooperate with other organizations
concerned with ecology and social justice. d) We will promote the study
of
ecological issues in the context of biblical theology and contemporary
science."<br />
<br />

[liberalhistorian]

34. OK; I'm basically a

techno-dummy, just to warn you! I'd be glad to do what I can, but it may take some time, just so you know.

[GreenPartyVoter]

35. No deadline on this thing, so no worries there. :^)

[liberalhistorian]

36. Great!

That'll give me the chance to be more tech-savvy, and to really dig into the subject itself.

[GreenPartyVoter]

37. Excellent. :^) Essentially I am going to offer up sections for people to

adopt.. like they do at DMOZ. That way people who have a certain passion.. such as gay christianity or biblical inerrancy.. can nurture their interest and share it with others. :)

[liberalhistorian]

40. That's a good idea, and

a great way to develop the site. It should be interesting to see what happens with it!

[meisje]

38. What about the Freepers? When do they get them?

[liberalhistorian]

39. Did you notice what

happened at the end?

The point is to show the danger of always assuming things will happen to the "other guy" and never to you, and that they have to have been doing something wrong, the danger of starting it with just one group under the guise of "security", because things like that will ALWAYS escalate, accelerate, and finally get out of control, and the cost of staying silent when one group in a society is made an enemy and discriminated against or persecuted in the name of "national security."

[omega minimo]

41. No, first they deathtrapped and blamed the victims of Katrina NOLA

:evilfrown:

[liberalhistorian]

42. Excellent point,

I should have thought of that!

[linazelle]

43. Well done. nt