The 200th Entry ...

They came first 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 trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

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 no one was left to speak up.

This is my 200th Post here (it was only a short time ago I marked the 100th) and today I am borrowing the words attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller, one of those who resisted Hitler in the 1930's and 40's. Who spoke these words matters less than the lesson they offer us ...

Today we know that SILENCE is no longer an option ...

According to Wikipedia, the original German from Pastor Martin Niemoller was offered in a sermon in 1946:

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.