A polyphonic compilation, a basket full of wisdom.
Some of them you might have heard already, like this one:
Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out, because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and by then there was no one left to speak out for me.
A good place to come when life seems too much for you.
In the post 9/11 world Pastor Martin Niemoller's wise words resonate loudly with the Muslims of this world.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in America, where many like me and millions before me came to escape our tyrannical governments, now find just such a one in the Land of the Free.
Today people may not object to the Patriot Act because it does not target them, for tomorrow refer to the good Pastors message ..
Shalom
A Pashtun in Texas
Thanks for the touching comments. I've been rereading Franz Werfel's "The Forty Days of Musa Dagh" and hope to write about this in the not too far future. At that time the Armenian were persecuted and so few Turkish people raised their voice. Since then, and thousand of years earlier, the same pattern repeats itself.
ReplyDeleteI keep wondering at the human folly: Life is so dear and such a wonderful gift, yet instead of savoring it it's wasted on wars and hatred. It's so easy to lead people 'by the nose'. We should develop in our children the ability to think and act independently, as individuals, not as herds.