Martin Niem\u00f6ller wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First they came for the Communists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a Communist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for the Socialists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a Socialist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for the trade unionists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a trade unionist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for the Jews<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a Jew<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for me<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there was no one left<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To speak out for me<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who are the \u201cthey\u201d that Niem\u00f6ller writes of?\u00a0 People will read this and see it only as a warning against the Nazis, failing to recognize that \u201cthey\u201d is also \u201cus.\u201d\u00a0 We want to imagine that the Nazis are a unique, unprecedented evil.\u00a0 We want to dehumanize and other them, because if we don\u2019t, then we are denied the comforting conceit that we are of course better than the Nazis, that we cannot possibly turn into them ourselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the terrifying reality is that we are all a little bit Nazi because what the Nazis were in their hearts is common to all humanity. We easily demonize those whom we have decided deserve to be demonized. We join in condemnation of those whom all \u201cright thinking\u201d people see as obvious demons. We aren\u2019t the bad guys. We can never be the bad guys. Only \u201cthey\u201d are bad guys. Only those we decide are inhuman are bad guys. Not all lives matter if those lives are people all good folk rightly despise and recognize as evil. It is a moral imperative to stand against hate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In reality, we can trade out any class, any gender, any ideology, any political party, any religion, and any ethnicity from that poem. We can replace \u201ccommunist\u201d with \u201clibertarian\u201d or \u201cdemocrat\u201d with \u201crepublican\u201d or \u201cleftist\u201d with \u201cright\u201d or \u201cTory\u201d with \u201cLabor.\u201d We can replace \u201cJews\u201d with \u201cblacks\u201d or \u201cwhites\u201d with \u201cAsians\u201d or \u201cHispanics\u201d with \u201cillegals\u201d or \u201cChristians\u201d with \u201cMuslims\u201d or \u201catheists\u201d with \u201cCatholics\u201d or \u201cdeniers\u201d with \u201csheeple.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The point is that it is human nature to \u201cother\u201d those with whom we disagree, to justify our hatred, and to imagine that our hatred is not hatred but rather it is justified and righteous indignation. It isn\u2019t just \u201cNazi\u201d nature or \u201cright wing\u201d nature or \u201cleft wing\u201d nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so those who demonize their political opponents, or religious opponents, or whatever opponents are always certain that they are righteous altogether, and those on the other side are evil altogether. They are always as righteous and full of love and hope and justice as any human ever is when they attack their enemies, when they disparage those who disparage them, when they hate those who hate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Niem\u00f6ller\u2019s words are not just warning us about Nazis. He\u2019s warning us about ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are not allowed this very human way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must instead, abide by the one verse \u201cdo to others as you\u2019d have them do to you.\u201d (Matthew 7:12). Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:36-40, Galatians 5:14, and Romans 13:9). And our neighbor includes the people we can\u2019t stand the most, it includes those who are our enemies, those who disagree with everything we hold dear, those who would harm us, those who would destroy us, those who would kill us, those who would ask stupid questions and vote for idiots.<\/p>\n
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