The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963
Yesterday I was inspired by a fellow traveler on my road to pursuing happyness. He hopped at out his seat dashed to the computer and said, ‘I have something to show you,’ after learning about the postcard project. And he shared with me a poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984). The writings were a response to the apathy versus the empathy and being of service to mankind by the German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
Who in America mirror the behavior of a ‘German intellectual?’ So from his poem, I created my own rendition.
Who Are ‘We’? (2007)
They came at last for the homeless,
And I didn’t speak up because I have a home.
They came at last for the poor,
And I didn’t speak up because I was well to do.
They came at last for the disabled,
And I didn’t speak up because I was able.
They came at last for the children,
And I didn’t speak up because I was no longer a child.
They came at last for the meek,
And I didn’t speak up because I was proud.
They came at last for the mis-educated,
And I didn’t speak up because I have an education.
They came at last for the unfaithful,
And I didn’t speak up because I was full of faith.
They came at last for the incarcerated,
And I didn’t speak up because I was free.
Then they at last came for me,
And I didn’t speak up because I was full of faith.
They came at last for the incarcerated,
And I didn’t speak up because I was free.
Then they at last came for me,
And by that time no one was around to speak for ‘we.’
So I ask who are we?
By Tambra Stevenson, Creator of Postcards from Katrina
