When will they come for you?
What happened in Texas during April of 2008 is nothing new; we've seen it all before. A prominent German theologian and Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemoller, penned a warning to future, unborn generations which was first published in the book "They Thought The Were Free" written by Milton Mayer in 1955.
I am not a member of the FLDS church, I am not a proponent of polygamy (I have enough trouble managing one wife and one family), I do not ascribe to the tyrannical methods employed by the patriarchs of some FLDS families, and I abhor the abuse of children but I definitely believe that those misguided individuals in this country who are applauding the actions in Texas need to read, understand, and take to heart the message of that book and Niemoller's poem:
I am not a member of the FLDS church, I am not a proponent of polygamy (I have enough trouble managing one wife and one family), I do not ascribe to the tyrannical methods employed by the patriarchs of some FLDS families, and I abhor the abuse of children but I definitely believe that those misguided individuals in this country who are applauding the actions in Texas need to read, understand, and take to heart the message of that book and Niemoller's poem:
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
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;
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;
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a Catholic;
because I was not a Catholic;
Then they came for the Protestants, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a Protestant.
because I was not a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Martin Niemoller - Germany , 1946
There are those who will applaud the actions of Texas officials because they will espouse that "the ends justify the means", and there are those (like the speaker in Niemoller's poem) who will ignore what's going on because it doesn't affect them and then there are those who will feel insulated from what is going on because we (unlike Nazi Germany) are a country of laws and are protected by a constitution and thus immune from the arbitrary and capricious whims of evil minded leaders. They are all three wrong.
The ends NEVER justify the means. What's happening in Texas DOES affect each and every one of us. The constitution IS regularly ignored by police agencies and the courts whenever doing so serves some ultimate, perceived good.
When will they come for you?
Where's Sarah?
The precipitative events in El Dorado Texas were initiated when a supposed call for help from Sarah; a pregnant 16 year old, forced child bride (who also had an 8 month old baby) was received by Texas authorities. In her plea for help she reported forced marriages, physical abuse, rapes, and beatings and she identified her abuser, her much older husband, by name. Surely enough information to identify her, yet weeks after hordes of body armored, automatic weapon packing stormtroopers invaded the community the authorities have yet to produce Sarah; why? Except to the most naive or malevolent observer four possible answers present themselves (1) the authorities are totally inept and incompetent and can't identify a pregnant 16 year old girl with an 8 month old baby even when they know her first and second name and the name of her "husband" (2) Sarah isn't her real name and even though she has been rescued and is safe she's too afraid to self identify (3) Sarah never existed, the authorities have been duped by a malevolent third party, possibly a former member of the sect or (4) Sarah never existed and the authorities fabricated the complaint as an excuse to attack and destroy a community that holds non-traditional religious and family beliefs. After having observe, over the course of my lifetime, the steady erosion of the constitution and the willingness of our leaders and the courts to embrace the notion that the "ends justify the means" I favor either answer 3 or 4. Both these possibilities embrace the apparent current, unverbalized (yet prevalent) philosophy in the American "justice" system that its ok to violate the constitutional rights of some individuals if those violations can be cynically cloaked as supporting some "higher good" or protecting some real or imagined "innocents".
I'm sure at some point the "authorities" will parade out "Sarah"; now "Sarah" might not be 16, she may not be married to the man first identified, she might not even be married or be pregnant or have children and her name may not even be "Sarah" but you can be sure that she will be well schooled on what to say, when to whimper, and when to break down in tears as well as when to be courageous in her stance. The authorities have to produce a "Sarah" in order to justify their violation of the constitutional rights of hundreds of individuals, the invasion of an American community by armed "troops", the desecration of a community's most religious site, the destruction of dozens of families and as a defense against the possible litigation that may result from these draconian actions. While no one would, nor should, deny that individuals who commit rape, force minors into marriage, abuse children, wives, or anyone; whether under the guise of religious practices or not, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, that prosecution should be executed with the strictest compliance to the constitution if we are to remain a truly free nation governed by law and not popular opinion. Extreme reaction as we've seen in Texas should require more than an anonymous complaint to be initiated, victims need to be actual persons identified by name, and perpetrators need to be individually identified not identified as a member of a faceless mass; actions such as these are actions used by despots to persecute dissidents, "enemies of the state", or non-conformists not the actions employed by those that sit in judgment of a free people to prosecute criminals.
The ends NEVER justify the means. What's happening in Texas DOES affect each and every one of us. The constitution IS regularly ignored by police agencies and the courts whenever doing so serves some ultimate, perceived good.
When will they come for you?
Where's Sarah?
The precipitative events in El Dorado Texas were initiated when a supposed call for help from Sarah; a pregnant 16 year old, forced child bride (who also had an 8 month old baby) was received by Texas authorities. In her plea for help she reported forced marriages, physical abuse, rapes, and beatings and she identified her abuser, her much older husband, by name. Surely enough information to identify her, yet weeks after hordes of body armored, automatic weapon packing stormtroopers invaded the community the authorities have yet to produce Sarah; why? Except to the most naive or malevolent observer four possible answers present themselves (1) the authorities are totally inept and incompetent and can't identify a pregnant 16 year old girl with an 8 month old baby even when they know her first and second name and the name of her "husband" (2) Sarah isn't her real name and even though she has been rescued and is safe she's too afraid to self identify (3) Sarah never existed, the authorities have been duped by a malevolent third party, possibly a former member of the sect or (4) Sarah never existed and the authorities fabricated the complaint as an excuse to attack and destroy a community that holds non-traditional religious and family beliefs. After having observe, over the course of my lifetime, the steady erosion of the constitution and the willingness of our leaders and the courts to embrace the notion that the "ends justify the means" I favor either answer 3 or 4. Both these possibilities embrace the apparent current, unverbalized (yet prevalent) philosophy in the American "justice" system that its ok to violate the constitutional rights of some individuals if those violations can be cynically cloaked as supporting some "higher good" or protecting some real or imagined "innocents".
I'm sure at some point the "authorities" will parade out "Sarah"; now "Sarah" might not be 16, she may not be married to the man first identified, she might not even be married or be pregnant or have children and her name may not even be "Sarah" but you can be sure that she will be well schooled on what to say, when to whimper, and when to break down in tears as well as when to be courageous in her stance. The authorities have to produce a "Sarah" in order to justify their violation of the constitutional rights of hundreds of individuals, the invasion of an American community by armed "troops", the desecration of a community's most religious site, the destruction of dozens of families and as a defense against the possible litigation that may result from these draconian actions. While no one would, nor should, deny that individuals who commit rape, force minors into marriage, abuse children, wives, or anyone; whether under the guise of religious practices or not, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, that prosecution should be executed with the strictest compliance to the constitution if we are to remain a truly free nation governed by law and not popular opinion. Extreme reaction as we've seen in Texas should require more than an anonymous complaint to be initiated, victims need to be actual persons identified by name, and perpetrators need to be individually identified not identified as a member of a faceless mass; actions such as these are actions used by despots to persecute dissidents, "enemies of the state", or non-conformists not the actions employed by those that sit in judgment of a free people to prosecute criminals.
How long will it be before "they" come for you?
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