So said Mark Twain, and he was onto something.
After World War II, German pastor and theologian Martin Niemoller tried to explain what happened in Nazi Germany during the rise of Hitler:
“First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.”
There is a new, rhyming version in 2009 America as we watch the continued demonization of private enterprise. It goes something like this:
“First they came for the Wall Street executives, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Wall Street executive. Then they came for the car dealers, and I didn’t speak up because I didn’t sell cars. Then they came for the health insurance companies, and I didn’t speak up because I didn’t work in the health care industry. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.”
Maybe it’s time to speak up.