Pastor Martin Niemöller's poem is a pessimistic, selfish, lazy person’s response to injustice. And the vast majority of non-Jews cannot even muster the energy to rise to that negligible request.
Six months after the pogram that Hamas unleashed, and I am still waiting for the various church synods to speak against Hamas. Individuals from these faiths have express sadness and support for the Jewish communities. The words from the Canadian leadership have left me cold, barely acknowledging the horros of October 7, and then emphasing the concern about the "innocent Gazan" who voted for Hamas and over 70% would do so again. The only innocent Gazans are the unborn. For the first time in long life that began in Canada, that I do not feel proud of being a Canadian Jew. I am only a Jew that was born her and still lives here. Many of my fellow Jews feel the same way! All the possible planned summits on Antisemitism will be a waste of time unless our Prime Minister and his followers acknowledge that Israel is our ancestoral homeland, and show the respect to it and to all Jews, even those living in Canada. Am Yisrael Chai!! The Jewish People Live! Another thought as an analogy: Years ago Italy won the World Cup in Football and everyone cheered regardless of their cultural backgound. Italian flags were everywhere. Well, it had happened, and thankfully it didn't, a horrible problem had arisen in Italy instead of a win, the streets of Toronto would have still be filled with Italian flags as a sympathic aknowledgement. But what did we see in Canada, as soon as it was learned that Israelis, (including many with Canadian roots) were massacred, raped, and taken hostage.: Terrorist flags were filling the streets. No, those flag wavers, many not Arab or Muslim, shouting Death to the Jews, From the River to the Seas, they are only PRO-Hamas. And they should all have charged with supporting a recognized terrorist organization. Most don't even know what river or what see, and don't, to this day, accept the fact that October 7 was carried out by Hamas and Gazans. And this weekend, many were dancing in the streets cheering when they learned about the rocket, etc, from Iran, an Islamofascist country, A land where a woman can be killed by not wearing hijab properly, gay men are murdered and hung in the town square, etc. This is what those flag wavers are cheering, and they should all be sent to Gaza, or Iran, then invalidate their passports so they can't return to Canada.
May be the forementioned poem may seem "lazy", but it is true!!
Yes, sadly, the silence is deafening. I get your cynicism about the virtue signaling use of the poem, that’s definitely there. But I think you might be blaming the poem for the hypocrisy a bit too much. I see it as the opposite, an attack on narrow, tribal self interest and a call to recognize common humanity. Kind of like John Donne’s famous sermon: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” Only with the poem, it’s no ‘group’ is an island.
Generally, I've noticed that progressives have food to eat and are insulated from the Darwinian feedback loop of being on the wrong side of an idea. They can tell other people what to do because they live in a place not affected by the consequences of their agenda. Like the EV people; they get to drive their electric cars and have no idea what mining for lithium does to the people who are mining. They are happy to sacrifice your life so they can feel better. Lazy, self-centered thinking indeed.
“A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.” Indeed, it's inherent to the Liberal worldview to deliberate endlessly and "The Road not Taken" could still be an unfinished poem if written from a liberal perspective.
But remember, Franklin Roosevelt was a Liberal and in due time, he didn't take half measures.
That's the advantage of the radical point of view: they immediately know what to do and Radicals are able to mobilize their adherents on the spot.
But it's an optical illusion: you hear and see them everywhere, but there are only few of them.
Very well said. It is sad that now people are too stupid to even act out of preventative or current self interest. But yes, self interest is a low bar. To selfishly bring my personal experience in, but not to detract from this fine essay - I have encountered too many people who say, "Just don't mention anything contraversial on social media or at work," and they speak it as it were a point of wisdom. Of course we should not be going off half cocked with our opinions, but when we refuse to stand up for what is right we are already dhimmi to our bosses, administrators, friends, society, etc. It is cowardice masquerading as wisdom. As I wrote on here, many have said "you should have kept silent and not mentioned Israel at your job," and I disagree. I was wearting an IDF hoody at work long before I was suspended, I was allowed to stand with Israel and I was allowed to wear a hoodie that said IDF. And even if I am not free I will live as a free man. Unless there is a miracle, I suspect I will be fired for this and to be honest I have no regret. My university is full of administrators who are slavishly supplicating themselves before what they deem is the Muslim community because they are afraid of being called racist (to be clear, most of the Muslim students and staff are not calling for this supplication, they are very good people, it is the white saviours who want to stand in their place) and these insecure persons lacking in moral grounding want others to know how woke and liberal they are. But after teaching at a university for 14 years, 15 classes a year, with an office always full, half the students having my phone number, how many do you think called me to say, "how are you, this must be stressful?" On a human level even if they didn't stand with Israel or loved Hamas one would think they would still care. I can count the number on one hand. They knew I was (illegally) banned from speaking with anyone who had ever been associated with the school or they just knew I wasn't there. They had my email, many had my phone number. The "U of Guelph / Humber family". Please.
As if using the word family makes it so. The Manson family was closer and kinder to each other. I can count the number on one hand who checked in with me. Is the desire to stay silent in the case of a moral duty to stand against anti-semitism, stand with Israel driven by selfishness? Self preservation? Fear? I think mostly driven by selfishness, and maybe a little fear. I have one student, a devout Christian he claims, he heard a professor at my university telling students that he (the professor) had heard from other profs that I as a professor had assaulted a student in class (a complete and utter lie) and this student, a boy that I had bent backwards to help prepare for many presentations, even in courses I wasn't teaching, refuses to tell me the professor's name because he is "afraid" / selfish. (nothing would happen to me, it is an irrational fear) I am not impressed with him or the rest of them. Why are Jewish strangers kinder and more helpful to me than my longtime Gentile friends? Have walked in my shoes? They are better people? I don't know. I am not just talking about helping with practical things, but saying, "this must be difficult, how are you feeling?" As to those who choose to remain silent in society when there is injustice, to those who don't want to get involved, who would walk past a person being assaulted or robbed and ignore it, to those who remain silent when they see and hear anti-semitism, they have a morality problem, they are cowards. And as to those who say, "if I was in the 1930s and Jews needed help I would be there for them," It's laughable. Those people who say that would be at worst informing on their Jewish neighbours, at best hearing and seeing no evil. But if they are afraid to support a Jewish colleague or to support someone who is being persecuted for a correct moral stand, they should not add self-delusion to their sins, they are cowards. And they would have been cowards in the 1930s. And if they want an example outside Judiasm, they might want to look at Christ, a man whose followers betrayed and abandoned him but went to the cross, they might want to look at Jesus and the Samaritan women or Jesus defending the prostitute when men stood with stones in their hands. Their faith seems to stop with action and that is not faith. www.freedomtoffend.com
There is a natural balance ... and since it is so out of sync, I cannot help but think that there is payment to be extracted .. for ALL involved. At first it is just a leak and then comes the sunami. I cry for that future and all the innocents who may suffer.
Six months after the pogram that Hamas unleashed, and I am still waiting for the various church synods to speak against Hamas. Individuals from these faiths have express sadness and support for the Jewish communities. The words from the Canadian leadership have left me cold, barely acknowledging the horros of October 7, and then emphasing the concern about the "innocent Gazan" who voted for Hamas and over 70% would do so again. The only innocent Gazans are the unborn. For the first time in long life that began in Canada, that I do not feel proud of being a Canadian Jew. I am only a Jew that was born her and still lives here. Many of my fellow Jews feel the same way! All the possible planned summits on Antisemitism will be a waste of time unless our Prime Minister and his followers acknowledge that Israel is our ancestoral homeland, and show the respect to it and to all Jews, even those living in Canada. Am Yisrael Chai!! The Jewish People Live! Another thought as an analogy: Years ago Italy won the World Cup in Football and everyone cheered regardless of their cultural backgound. Italian flags were everywhere. Well, it had happened, and thankfully it didn't, a horrible problem had arisen in Italy instead of a win, the streets of Toronto would have still be filled with Italian flags as a sympathic aknowledgement. But what did we see in Canada, as soon as it was learned that Israelis, (including many with Canadian roots) were massacred, raped, and taken hostage.: Terrorist flags were filling the streets. No, those flag wavers, many not Arab or Muslim, shouting Death to the Jews, From the River to the Seas, they are only PRO-Hamas. And they should all have charged with supporting a recognized terrorist organization. Most don't even know what river or what see, and don't, to this day, accept the fact that October 7 was carried out by Hamas and Gazans. And this weekend, many were dancing in the streets cheering when they learned about the rocket, etc, from Iran, an Islamofascist country, A land where a woman can be killed by not wearing hijab properly, gay men are murdered and hung in the town square, etc. This is what those flag wavers are cheering, and they should all be sent to Gaza, or Iran, then invalidate their passports so they can't return to Canada.
May be the forementioned poem may seem "lazy", but it is true!!
Yes, sadly, the silence is deafening. I get your cynicism about the virtue signaling use of the poem, that’s definitely there. But I think you might be blaming the poem for the hypocrisy a bit too much. I see it as the opposite, an attack on narrow, tribal self interest and a call to recognize common humanity. Kind of like John Donne’s famous sermon: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” Only with the poem, it’s no ‘group’ is an island.
Generally, I've noticed that progressives have food to eat and are insulated from the Darwinian feedback loop of being on the wrong side of an idea. They can tell other people what to do because they live in a place not affected by the consequences of their agenda. Like the EV people; they get to drive their electric cars and have no idea what mining for lithium does to the people who are mining. They are happy to sacrifice your life so they can feel better. Lazy, self-centered thinking indeed.
“A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.” Indeed, it's inherent to the Liberal worldview to deliberate endlessly and "The Road not Taken" could still be an unfinished poem if written from a liberal perspective.
But remember, Franklin Roosevelt was a Liberal and in due time, he didn't take half measures.
That's the advantage of the radical point of view: they immediately know what to do and Radicals are able to mobilize their adherents on the spot.
But it's an optical illusion: you hear and see them everywhere, but there are only few of them.
COEXIST bumper stickers lol…that’s the same as wearing a tee that say LOSER
Very well said. It is sad that now people are too stupid to even act out of preventative or current self interest. But yes, self interest is a low bar. To selfishly bring my personal experience in, but not to detract from this fine essay - I have encountered too many people who say, "Just don't mention anything contraversial on social media or at work," and they speak it as it were a point of wisdom. Of course we should not be going off half cocked with our opinions, but when we refuse to stand up for what is right we are already dhimmi to our bosses, administrators, friends, society, etc. It is cowardice masquerading as wisdom. As I wrote on here, many have said "you should have kept silent and not mentioned Israel at your job," and I disagree. I was wearting an IDF hoody at work long before I was suspended, I was allowed to stand with Israel and I was allowed to wear a hoodie that said IDF. And even if I am not free I will live as a free man. Unless there is a miracle, I suspect I will be fired for this and to be honest I have no regret. My university is full of administrators who are slavishly supplicating themselves before what they deem is the Muslim community because they are afraid of being called racist (to be clear, most of the Muslim students and staff are not calling for this supplication, they are very good people, it is the white saviours who want to stand in their place) and these insecure persons lacking in moral grounding want others to know how woke and liberal they are. But after teaching at a university for 14 years, 15 classes a year, with an office always full, half the students having my phone number, how many do you think called me to say, "how are you, this must be stressful?" On a human level even if they didn't stand with Israel or loved Hamas one would think they would still care. I can count the number on one hand. They knew I was (illegally) banned from speaking with anyone who had ever been associated with the school or they just knew I wasn't there. They had my email, many had my phone number. The "U of Guelph / Humber family". Please.
As if using the word family makes it so. The Manson family was closer and kinder to each other. I can count the number on one hand who checked in with me. Is the desire to stay silent in the case of a moral duty to stand against anti-semitism, stand with Israel driven by selfishness? Self preservation? Fear? I think mostly driven by selfishness, and maybe a little fear. I have one student, a devout Christian he claims, he heard a professor at my university telling students that he (the professor) had heard from other profs that I as a professor had assaulted a student in class (a complete and utter lie) and this student, a boy that I had bent backwards to help prepare for many presentations, even in courses I wasn't teaching, refuses to tell me the professor's name because he is "afraid" / selfish. (nothing would happen to me, it is an irrational fear) I am not impressed with him or the rest of them. Why are Jewish strangers kinder and more helpful to me than my longtime Gentile friends? Have walked in my shoes? They are better people? I don't know. I am not just talking about helping with practical things, but saying, "this must be difficult, how are you feeling?" As to those who choose to remain silent in society when there is injustice, to those who don't want to get involved, who would walk past a person being assaulted or robbed and ignore it, to those who remain silent when they see and hear anti-semitism, they have a morality problem, they are cowards. And as to those who say, "if I was in the 1930s and Jews needed help I would be there for them," It's laughable. Those people who say that would be at worst informing on their Jewish neighbours, at best hearing and seeing no evil. But if they are afraid to support a Jewish colleague or to support someone who is being persecuted for a correct moral stand, they should not add self-delusion to their sins, they are cowards. And they would have been cowards in the 1930s. And if they want an example outside Judiasm, they might want to look at Christ, a man whose followers betrayed and abandoned him but went to the cross, they might want to look at Jesus and the Samaritan women or Jesus defending the prostitute when men stood with stones in their hands. Their faith seems to stop with action and that is not faith. www.freedomtoffend.com
There is a natural balance ... and since it is so out of sync, I cannot help but think that there is payment to be extracted .. for ALL involved. At first it is just a leak and then comes the sunami. I cry for that future and all the innocents who may suffer.
Please also remember that Muslims go to heaven or hell
But as a Jew there is no heaven or hell we just get a little reducated and return.
I do not know why everyone does not convert to become a Jew☺️
Pls, speak out for all the positive things about your religion. I do.
Please remember when Muslims conquer they believe in
Convert or kill all infidels
So once upon a future time this dead Jew awaiting return will laugh at all those who supported Hamas as they become the deaf Infidels