Stop the Hatred

This poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller, written during Hitler’s uprising, seems painfully apropos today, only the characters have changed. We can substitute and put in names: Hispanics, Muslims, Planned Parenthood — and no one speaks out from the Republican Party to stop the hatred, the bullying, and the fear mongering.

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Communist;

Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak out for me.