Two stories keep rattling around in my mind. The first was on a poster in my high school geometry teacher's classroom. Surely you've seen it, too:
The first: Once upon a time, there were four people; their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody, and Anybody. Whenever there was an important job to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it. So, consequently, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.
The second: A poem by Martin Nieller -
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.
--------- -------- --------
The first: Once upon a time, there were four people; their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody, and Anybody. Whenever there was an important job to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it. So, consequently, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.
The second: A poem by Martin Nieller -
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.
--------- -------- --------
Why are these on my mind so much? I don't know, exactly. I have this horrid, undercurrent-feeling of America changing and Nobody is doing anything about it and that by the time it truly affects Everybody, no one will be able to speak up. Over the past 60 years, the American government has grown bloated. The past 15 years have seen exponential growth.
I keep hearing my liberal friends, who are indeed dear to me, saying that the health care law is the same as invading Iraq under false pretenses. Going to war and changing how the government affects Americans' lives are two completely different things. We've always gone to war amid protests. As much as we hear that WWII brought the nation together, there were protests and American cries against it. Even the Revolutionary War wasn't a unanimously supported war. Going to war is nothing new.
Forcing people to buy insurance is new. The federal government taking over 1/6 of the economy is new. Governmental takeover of huge chunks of the banking industry, the auto industry, and healthcare is new. It fundamentally changes the nature of government in America. The Democrats in Congress have taken the decades' long trend of ignoring the 10th Amendment to new heights.
I hope Americans wake up before casting their 2010 votes. The only way to reclaim our country is to vote out every single Democrat and vote for candidates who pledge to repeal the health care bill and decrease the size of the federal government. We have to repeal the health care law and write a new bill that will actually serve Americans, not the government.
Anyway, those are the two stories rattling around in my head. May they rattle around in your head, too.
~ G
