2111 First They Came . . .
Martin Niemoller is best known for his poem penned after World War II. It has been repeated and changed over the years since but seldom within the personal context of the man himself. First the poem:
First, they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came to the Trade unionists
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 out for me
Niemoller’s poem is hailed as a warning of how slowly and insidiously civil rights can be lost when there is no voice of opposition. That is indeed true. But it was written by this German Lutheran pastor who was, an avowed anti-Semite for his entire life with the possible exception of his old age – even then those convictions are not well known. In addition to his racial prejudice, he was also a fervent nationalist and fought for the elevation German people. As a result of his pre-war mindset, he was seduced by Hitler and supported the rise of Nazism. The man who authored his well-known poem did not emerge until after he had spent the closing years of the war in various concentration camps. [https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-biography]
It may sound strange, but that history should not weaken Niemoller’s message. In fact, it is strengthened when one realizes that he spent many of his post-war years calling for Germans to acknowledge their guilt both as a nation and as a people. Niemoller represents all men who have been or are deceived by racial pride and animus in league with the lure of a costly cancerous false security enforced by out-of-control government. But he also represents anyone who, even if through fire, realizes the evil of such things and, by God’s grace, renounces pride and cowardice.
America is not annexing foreign territories or conquering nations. Neither is she on the verge of war because of provocative international encroachments. But we as a people are at war – with ourselves. Consider this if I may:
First, they came for religious liberty
We left the fight to others
Because we had our own lives
Then they came for unborn children
We minimized the threat and came too late to the fight
Because it wasn’t our daughter
Then they came for the melting pot to create victims and tribes
We did not speak for harmony and love nor fight with truth
Because they were intimidating, we allowed ourselves to be guilted
Now they have used sickness to come for our children, churches, businesses, and bodies
We surrendered our liberties to the state
Because we were afraid
I have written this before, but it bears repeating. America is upside down under the power-mongers of the Left from the White House to the majority media. The perverted political-media alliance information machine has increasingly captured the hearts and minds of John Q. Public. With that power, the core principles of civil liberty and moral character have been turned inside out. Racism is imposed by schools, businesses, and government in the name of unity. Abnormal sexualities have been deemed to be enlightened behaviors and publicly unassailable. Through the weaponization of COVID-19 and all its variants, those who swore oaths, under God, to defend the Constitution of the United States and protect citizens under its authority managed to rip the protections of the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments from the lives of millions.
If more Americans do not strive to understand the threats, straighten their feeble backbones, strengthen their moral courage, demand accountability from those who pervert and rob our children’s minds and hearts, and simply refuse to comply with mandates and abuses, America will die.
We are fast approaching the point of no return.