120201 “They” Came

This little piece made a large impression on me when I was a teen, oh so long ago.. Most of my friends were Roman Catholic.

"In Germany 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."

-- by Martin Niemöller, prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor, best known as the author of the poem “First they came....”

Names change, but the actions are the same. It starts with words. Again, it is OK to bash certain groups, especially Christians. Why? Why bash any group? Medicare and Medicaid cause the greatest drain on services. When Obamacare makes Medicaid universal, what will they cut when services become scarce? What group of people require the most in medical services? Science Fiction covered this several decades ago. Old people do not seem to contribute to society. They are so slow and come up with those irritating stories about life that lead to limits on fun. They simply do not keep up with the way things are “now”. Some people deserve more medical care because they have more reason to live. That sounds good until it becomes personal and some bureaucracy decides.

History repeats itself. History goes in cycles. History may have been written by the victors, but a few people have noticed that all this has happened some other time and somewhere else. Who is going to win? Israel fell to Babylon; Babylon was absorbed by Persia; Greece conquered Persia, and then Rome took over. Rome influenced the entire western world, but Babylon wants it back. Westerners simply cannot grasp the significance of history. Almost none of them can understand a single yod of history. Man is not progressing. The passions of individuals have not changed. The evolution of technology has nothing to do with the improvement of man. Instead, man is regressing. Civilization is a thin veneer that merely hides the volcano of savagery that threatens to destroy all of mankind. (Have you noticed the political debates?) Pacifism will not save us. Ancient principles and ‘outdated’ morals may rescue individuals.

Nothing will save this world. It is too far gone to care.