JIM HARRIS: Will You Stand Idly By?

By
Updated: June 4, 2012

 

Martin Niemöller was a German pastor and anti-Nazi leader who became famous for a poem he wrote about political apathy.

Here is his famous poem:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Niemöller, who first supported Hitler and then opposed him at the cost of his own freedom for a while, survived World War II and lived until 1984.
His poem remains a warning of the dangers of political apathy.
At noon on June 8 on the front steps of the State Capitol in Little Rock, there will be a rally called “Stand Up for Religious Freedom.”
The rally is to show there is opposition to the Obama administration’s new mandate that religious organizations pay for their workers’ birth control. This is an out right attack on Catholic organizations.
For the first time in our nation’s history, the federal government will force religious institutions other than the Church itself to pay for drugs and medical procedures for birth control that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The White House rule by edict will force religious hospitals, schools, charities and other health and social service providers to provide “free” abortion pills, sterilizations and contraception on demand as part of their insurance plans.
By doing this, the Obama administration seeks to be able to define which religious institutions are “religious enough” to be under federal control.
The Church itself – not yet. Catholic sponsored organizations – the first step.
Obama and the radical feminists in his administration are doing this in the name of “gender equity.”   Never mind that it is in direct opposition to the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Making the sexes equal is the goal and we shouldn’t let little things like separation of church and state get in the way.
You will hear the phrase “gender equity” a lot in the coming months.
It is also being used to justify allowing gay marriage. Most churches include the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. That is the way it has been during all recorded history.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, celebrated this decision and is calling for Obama’s re-election.
The National Organization for Women, Ms Magazine and the Feminist Majority Foundation support the Obama administration’s abuse of the Obamacare law to ram abortion down pro-life medical professionals’ throats.
These far-left organizations are getting ready to do all they can to keep Obama in the White House. If you think he has been liberal until now, wait until Obama gets a second term and never has to answer to the voters again.
But beyond the politics of the situation, Obama and his edict set a dangerous precedent that puts religious freedom at risk in this county.
June 8, Arkansans have an opportunity to stand up and show they are not apathetic towards this attack on Catholics.
Some of you are no doubt thinking “I’m not Catholic. Why do I care? Why would I want to spend a lunch hour on a Friday supporting this?”
Catholics traditionally have not been Republicans. Most tend to be liberal Democrats. Obama enjoyed their support in 2008 when he won 54 percent of the total Catholic vote.
If you are Republican or just a conservative, it is easy to stay away.
This is not the time for people of faith to be divided. It is a time when we all need to stand together.
Staying away says you don’t care about guarding religious freedom.
Remember Niemöller’s warning.
Do any of us really want to have to say one day:
“When the Obama administration came for the Catholics,
“I remained silent;
“I was not a Catholic….”