Speak Up

Why is it that it’s always the extremists who speak up the loudest and the liberals whose voices are never heard? Is it below the dignity of the intellectuals to protest against what they perceive as injustice? Or are the liberals just complacent “As long as it doesn’t affect us”?

Sure, we do speak up once in a while like in the Jessica Lal case, but only when the issue is close to home. With most issues, as horrifying as they might seem, we (I include myself here) just don’t feel the need to speak out. There might be a genocide going on in The Sudan, but it doesn’t affect us. Civil War in Iraq, but it doesn’t affect us.

With extremists however, Richard Gere kisses Shilpa Shetty and they protest all over the country, burning effigies. Say what you want about extremists, but at least they stand up for what they believe in. We liberals just seem to lack the courage of our convictions.

I leave you with a short poem written by a man who survived the Nazis.

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.
-Martin Niemöller