First they came 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 Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

Who Was Martin Niemoller?
The version above is taken from an article on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of WW II that appeared in TIME Magazine, Aug 28, 1989. There are many versions of this poem floating around… by no means is this the authorative one. Similarly, the author of the poem is often not mentioned. On one level, that is not important. Indeed, Martin Niemoller was an outspoken advocate for accepting the burden of collective guilt for WW II as a means of atonement for the suffering that the German nation (through the Nazis) had caused before and during WW II.
On the other hand, I think that something is missed if one doesn’t understand that the words come from a man who also declared that he “would rather burn his church to the ground, than to preach the Nazi trinity of ‘race, blood, and soil.’”
Niemoller was tainted. He had been a U-boat captain in WW I prior to becoming a pastor. And he supported Hitler prior to his taking power. Indeed, initially the Nazi press held him up as a model… for his service in WW I. [Newsweek, July 10, 1937, pg 32]
But Niemoller broke very early with the Nazis. In 1933 …

Posted by: Outraged | Jun 11 2005 11:04 utc | 4

Now that they’re here and we’ve got their attention, and, we’ve got a situation where American mercenaries are shooting at American troops, then being taken into custody and now crying about war crimes and their constitutional rights, maybe it would be time for Billmon to do a few of those “Catch 22” posts.

Posted by: bcf | Jun 11 2005 17:12 utc | 6

This guy gets it right:
Thom Hartmann: ‘Dean just told them the truth and they thought it was hell’
Posted on Saturday, June 11 @ 10:41:27 EDT
By Thom Hartmann, Common Dreams
This morning I called the Democratic National Committee to tell them that I support Howard Dean’s modern-day version of Harry Truman’s dictum that, “I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”
Timid and fearful Democrats are trembling on national television as they beg Dr. Dean to stop pointing out the hypocricy and misinformation efforts of Republicans in office and Conservatives in the media.
“He doesn’t speak for me,” they say, apparently longing for the days when their spokesman was taking big checks from multinational corporations, signing corporate-friendly trade deals, and defending sex scandals.
The simple truth is that corporate interests have hijacked our nation, theocrats want to take us back to the days of the Salem Witch Trials (with gays playing the part of witches), and the “stars” in the corporate “mainstream” media have been so terrified by Bush administration threats of loss of access (which could then lead to the loss of their own 6- and 7-figure income jobs) that they perpetuate administration lies and tremble at the thought of actually asking a tough follow-up question when Bush prevaricates.
Howard Dean points out these uncomfortable truths. And, like the little boy who said that the Emperor had no clothes, those entrenched in the status quo are trying to hush him up.
But the status quo is bankrupting our families, gutting the middle class, putting a bulls-eye on American soldiers and tourists around the world, devastating our environment and our children’s future.
Given that this nation is only one of a half-dozen or so mature democracies still stuck with a system of government (lacking proportional representation or IRV) that requires a two-party system to operate properly, it’s critical that progressives infiltrate and take over the Democratic Party. After all, it was started by radical progressives like Thomas Jefferson, and reached its greatest electoral victories in the 20th Century when Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted an unabashedly progressive agenda.
And the best way for progressives to be heard today, when it’s critical that Howard Dean get support in standing up to corrupt Republicans and spineless Democrats, is for the DNC to hear from us.
Mid-way into my phone call this morning, I realized that if I really wanted the DNC to pay attention to my comments I should make a tangible gesture. I pulled out my Visa card and made a small donation. It was only ten dollars, but if a million of us did the same, it would make people stand up and take notice.
The website for the DNC is http://www.dnc.org and their phone number is 877 336-7200. Speak out now.
Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored Award-winning best-selling author and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk show. http://www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight,” “Unequal Protection,” “We The People,” “The Edison Gene”, and “What Would Jefferson Do?”
Reprinted from Common Dreams:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0610-28.htm

Posted by: susan | Jun 11 2005 22:25 utc | 8