Reverend Martin Niemoeller Quote

"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."

by:	Reverend Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984) German Lutheran pastor, was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Dachau in 1938. He was freed by the allied forces in 1945.
Source:	Poem in 1976 translated from German
Rating:
Categories:	Apathy, Censorship, Coercion, Collectivist, Fascism, Fear, Freedom, Government, History, Justice, Liberty, Nazi, Oppression, Police, Politics, Power, Prison, Propaganda, Responsibility, Socialism, Terrorism, Tyranny, Usurpation, War
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Speak out now against King George & his hench men!  -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US      1
Yes, you could do that. Then you could convince everyone to oust him. And then, after he is gone, you will see the Hurculean task still remaining. But since all you wanted to do was complain, you'll still be happy.  -- David L. Rosenthal      1
David, so true, but, we as mere mortals still need to individually educate and warn our neighbors, need to learn court procedure and as nonprofessional practitioners legally attack the beast (even on issues such as traffic tickets), and step out as the noble sovereigns we are, demanding that our Representatives represent us individually and not the despotic mob. Anyway, that's a start.  -- Mike, Norwalk      2
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The task ahead is daunting, but we must get on with it. The longer it takes to prepare the elephant, the tougher its hide, which makes chewing more difficult.  -- Joe, Rochester, MI      2
-- Robert, Sarasota
Divide an conquer - the systematic organization of hatreds. As long as we remain petty and self-righteous about our fellow man, we are doing the work of the tyrant.  -- E Archer, NYC      2
Mike and Joe and Archer and Reston and Robert: Speak out, speak out, speak out. By all means speak out. It is the least one can do. He who sees injustice and remains silent...you know what I mean. But how can we really expect to eat that elephant? We are strong enough to tolerate even the self-righteous, but the corrupt are running circles around us.  -- David L Rosenthal
David, like I said above, learn the rules of civil, and criminal, procedures along with local, state, and federal judicial/legal quirks. Get as active as time permits in the Libertarian and/or Constitutional Parties. Get active on college campuses and start classes of your own on what's going on (you'd be surprised how many ears are out there) Get CDs such as Lose Change 2nd Ed or America Freedom to Fascism, or etc. and hand them out free to your mainstream sheeple acquaintances.. Often times local radio talk shows will interview you if you've 'gat shtick'. I've personally gone to court often, have traveled the U.S. lecturing on the Constitution, talked on various local radio talk shows and the rest of what I've mentioned here. If there were 10,000 of us out there doing that, we would start to scratch the surface. Its amazing how mainstream media is driving the propaganda machine, is anti-liberty, and unavailable to Constitutional issues. Lately I've been active in a less obtrusive way. I've known people to only use gold and silver coin as money (yeah I know, next to impossible but that's how they lived their lives for years0; there's always something to do.  -- Mike, Norwalk      2
OK  -- David L. Rosenthal      1
Well, we have fried elephant, and boiled elephant, and elephant stew, elephant gumbo, elephant burgers, elephant balls and spaghetti, broiled elephant, bar-b-qued elephant, elephant soup, elephant fritters, surf n turf with crocodile and elephant, elephant shish kebab, elephant parmesian, elephant stuffed with hyena, elephant fricasee, and baby back elephant ribs, elephant rinds, elephant jerky, and....that's it.  -- David L. Rosenthal
I have absolutely no qualms with how a man thinks or believes. It is when he uses what he thinks to destroy the expression of my liberty in which I become enraged (hopefully to action). It has been my experience, philosophy, and observation that Communism, in any form, destroys my naturally inalienable and individual rights. So would social democracy (the rule of the many over the few), and trade unions (forced compliance upon men who own and run business to do things against their will to capitulate to the masses). I have no qualms with government ridding out forces, organizations, threats, causes or measures, or any group that encroaches upon my liberty -- that is it's function and purpose: To protect me from the onslaught of the masses against my liberty! However, when government goes a step passed protecting me and the expression of my liberty,  -- Logan, Memphis, TN      2
oops, I accidentally pressed "Enter"... It should continue... "and the expression of my liberty, to persecuting someone for what he thinks and says, when he is not threatening the exercise of my liberty, we see the vile threads of tyranny quickly weaving our destruction."  -- Logan, Memphis, TN      1
I don't get the elephant thing.  -- Anonymous
That's why it's important to defend the rights of all, even if you don't agree with what they say.  -- Anonymous      2
Talk is cheap...  -- Dave, Bradenton      1
Anonymous, "the elephant thing" means that when you have a BIG task you can't do it all at once. Sometimes you have to do it a little bit at a time, like walking a mile, one step at a time.  -- jim k, Austin, Tx      1
-- Kimo, USA
-- jim k, Austin
Why wait for anyone to present expressions for you, present the appropriate expressions for yourself,  I represent fairness, justice, and sincerity.   -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown      1

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