OPINION: We Must Keep Speaking Up

A post-World War II poem is a warning against staying silent about oppression, while a recent adaptation is a spoken anthem.

Prices keep rising. New tariffs keep coming. The job market’s gotten worse. The government hovers on the brink of a shutdown. The Trump administration is alienating our allies while its warlike deeds and rhetoric only intensify. ICE kidnappings continue. The military is in U.S. cities for no justifiable reason.

In these dark times, it’s tempting to try to ignore what’s happening all around us.  However, this widely quoted poem shows that any bliss that ignorance brings is only temporary and that burying our heads in the sand just makes us easier targets: 

First 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 for me.

“First They Came” is based on the words of German minister and former Nazi supporter Martin Niemöller. When the Third Reich began interfering with churches, he resisted and spent years in concentration camps. After the war, he expressed his remorse for watching in silence as a genocidal dictator ascended to power.

In the 21st Century United States, progressives have quoted various versions of the poem as a warning, but I found hope and inspiration in this adaptation:

First they came for the immigrants and refugees and I spoke up
    because immigrants and refugees are our neighbors.

Then they came for transgender people and I spoke up
    because transgender people are our neighbors.

Then they came for the poor and the vulnerable and I spoke up
    because the poor and vulnerable are our neighbors.

Then they came for the aid workers, the federal workers, and the civil servants and I spoke up
    because they too are our neighbors. 

They came for the students, the teachers, and the universities and I spoke up
    because they too are our neighbors.

Then they came for us and we spoke up because we are here together
    and we are called to love all our neighbors, no exceptions.

This is how a group of concerned citizens in Lebanon County begins its “Mondays with (Congressman Dan) Meuser” rallies, where demonstrators speak up for people the White House is scapegoating and against the policies that our MAGA cheerleader spins on any media outlet that will host him.

The poem’s author, Bridget Moix, is general secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Washington-based Quaker organization that lobbies for peace, justice and environmental stewardship.

She said she turned to “First They Came” earlier this year, when she was asked to speak at an interfaith vigil on Capitol Hill, where participants were gathering to urge members of Congress to show “moral courage” and stand up to the White House.  

Like many Americans, she was alarmed at our country’s march toward authoritarianism in the days since Trump took office. “It struck me so strongly that our country is on a fast, slippery slope,” she said.

But instead of focusing on the slope that Niemöller depicted, Moix took a positive approach by changing the title to “And I Spoke Up” and reframing the message as “a call for action.”  

It’s a call we must answer, especially now, as the White House tries every which way to topple an indispensable pillar of our democracy.

Just a few days ago, Trump, who pardoned every one of the Jan. 6 terrorists who attacked the Capitol to try to overturn his legitimate defeat, announced a crackdown on what he called “domestic terrorism” — which sounds more like criticism of his administration’s cruelty, corruption and injustice.

It’s a blatant attempt to stifle dissent, and we can’t let it succeed.

Without free speech, there’s no chance of informed decision-making or fair elections. And without fair elections, there’s no chance for us to elect candidates who’ll put the public interest above their own and govern according to the Constitution, common sense and sound economic principles.

If we stay silent and fail to exercise our First Amendment rights, we risk letting them wither away along with our freedom and way of life.

Lisa Von Ahn is an experienced columnist previously published in the Pottsville Republican Herald newspaper.

Canary note: Opinions expressed in any Op-Ed column appearing on this site are the views of the writer and are not necessarily the opinions of Coal Region Canary.

Want to be a columnist with Coal Region Canary? Contact us at newscanary@gmail.com.

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