First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –
Because what could I do? There were lots of them, and one of me. So I left it up to someone else, who was surely better equipped and better informed than I. That way, not only was my burden lighter, but the ones who were best equipped could do the work in less time and with less effort than I could, and everyone wins, right?
With apologies to Martin Niemoller, who wrote “First they came…” It’s an inspirational poem. Pay attention to it. What you can do, you should do. It’s better to try and fail than it is to decide the effort isn’t worth it; I’d rather have someone who tried to climb a mountain that was too high than someone who shrugged and didn’t even try.
It brings to mind Rush’s “Bravado” (“We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost”.)
The question is: where do you do? The thing that got me thinking about this was another meme on Facebook, saying “What if police cars had ‘Inshallah’ instead of ‘In God we Trust'” or something like that, then saying “That’s how atheists feel!”
Well… in that case, atheists aren’t worried about it and aren’t inspired to post stupid memes on Facebook, right? Because if I saw that, I’d feel about like I do when I see Christian themes: I’m not worried about it. Maybe I’m even inspired some. Certainly my faith, such that it is, isn’t so externally driven that I’m shaken by something that someone else, even a group of someone elses, says… even when that “someone else” might be the government.
Maybe I should worry; after all, the Holocaust wasn’t built in a day. But at the same time, I have a greater trust in humanity than others do, I guess: ironic that these atheists say man is inherently good but refuse to trust, while as a Jew I’m supposed to assume that man is ignorant yet I am able to trust my fellow humans…