Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Silence is the Death of Liberty


First they tortured a U.S. citizen and gang member ...
I remained silent;
I wasn't a criminal

Then they tortured a U.S. citizen, whistleblower and navy veteran ...
I remained silent;
I wasn't a whistleblower

Then they locked up an attorney for representing accused criminals ...
I remained silent;
I wasn't a defense attorney

Then they arrested a young father walking with his son simply because he told Dick Cheney that he disagreed with his policies ...
I remained silent;
I've never talked to an important politician

Then they said an entertainer should be killed because she questioned the government's version of an important historical event ...
I remained silent;
I wasn't an entertainer

Then they arrested people for demanding that Congress hold the President to the Constitution ...
I did not speak out;
I've never protested in Washington

Then they arrested a man for holding a sign ...
I held my tongue;
I've never held that kind of sign

Then they broke a minister's leg because he wanted to speak at a public event ...
I said nothing;
I wasn't a religious leader

Then they shot a student with a taser gun and arrested him for asking a question of a politician at a public event ...
I remained silent;
I wasn't a student

Then they declared that they could label U.S. citizens as "unlawful enemy combatants" and imprison them indefinitely - and even assassinate them - all without trial ...
I remained silent;
I assumed I wasn't on a list

When they came for me,
Everyone was silent;
there was no one left to speak out.


Inspired by the poem First They Came by Martin Niemöller, which was written about the Nazis.

I originally wrote this poem in 2007. I have updated it with the additional verse about assassinations.

at

7 comments:

  1. Majia's BlogSeptember 14, 2010 at 8:19 PM

    Thank you for the excellent posts.

    Any luck tracking down the "adjunct" from TexasA&M? I looked also but adjuncts usually are not listed on the department homepages. The best bet would be an email to the department chair of Environmental Studies. I can pursue if you haven't already as I want to confirm this story also...

    ReplyDelete
  2. EDDIEDAVISSeptember 14, 2010 at 10:57 PM

    Wonderful article,thanks for putting this together! "This is obviously one great post. Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have so provided here. Keep it up!"
    Alpha male

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 15, 2010 at 5:50 AM

    That's a great post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2010 at 6:05 AM

    TOO LATE!

    They should have come -sooner. NOW, the knock-knock-knock! on the door is -for those who -least expected the death of their liberty.

    "Those in government who desire leniency -over- a long, slow walk to the guillotine or the gallows -should give up those leaders among them who perpetrated -and- covered-up the traitorous acts of 9-11."

    http://americansjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/get-on-right-side-of-this-thing-now.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. PSWSeptember 15, 2010 at 11:18 AM

    excellent stuff

    ReplyDelete
  6. Howard T LewisSeptember 15, 2010 at 2:56 PM

    You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.
    Dorothy Parker

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownSeptember 15, 2010 at 8:02 PM

    Unbelievable... government gone to far. give us your two cents at http://www.beyondmytwocents.com

    ReplyDelete

→ Thank you for contributing to the conversation by commenting. We try to read all of the comments (but don't always have the time).

→ If you write a long comment, please use paragraph breaks. Otherwise, no one will read it. Many people still won't read it, so shorter is usually better (but it's your choice).

→ The following types of comments will be deleted if we happen to see them:

-- Comments that criticize any class of people as a whole, especially when based on an attribute they don't have control over

-- Comments that explicitly call for violence

→ Because we do not read all of the comments, I am not responsible for any unlawful or distasteful comments.