Godless, Liberal, Commie, Pinko
Friday, June 12, 2009 at 6:43AM It's Official. I Am Now a Card-Carrying, Godless, Liberal, Commie, Pinko.
"First they came for the Communists,
And I did not speak up for I was not a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then... they came for me...
And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
-Pastor Martin Niemöller
And now the amended version for Conservatives/Republicans:
"First they came for the terrorists,
And I did not speak up for I don't like Arabs or Muslims;
And then they came for the secularists,
And I didn’t speak up because I believe in Almighty God;
And then they came for the impoverished and the minorities,
And I didn’t speak up because I don't like poor people or those who aren't white;
And then... they came for me... and asked how everything was;
"Smashing", I replied, "Could I get a refill on my sweet tea?".
I cite the good Pastor's poem (and the twist afterward) because it points out the necessity for groups like the American Civil Liberties Union. Certainly no single entity has been more vigilant (and successful) in protecting and securing the rights of all peoples than this courageously tenacious organization.
Founded in 1920, the ACLU has committed itself to such various causes as religious liberty (including the separation of church and state), freedom of speech, reproductive rights, equality for minorities and LGBT people, rights for the criminally accused and imprisoned, opposition to the death penalty and immigrant's rights.
Its clients (and those it has spoken for) include people from all walks of life and political philosophies including Oliver North, Rush Limbaugh, NAMBLA, The Klu Klux Klan, Communists, Neo-Nazi groups, John T. Scopes, The Westboro Baptist Church ("God Hates Fags!"), Jehovah's Witnesses, labor unions and former CIA agents.
While always controversial, the ACLU does uphold the rights of all individuals. Which is why they're such a burr in the ass of conservatives. How is someone supposed to hold the reins of power and wealth eternally with these busybodies from the ACLU always clamoring about equal protection under the law and allowing everyone to have their rights and a voice? Why, that sort of behavior might lead us down the slippery slope to...well... democracy.
Anyway, this post was to celebrate my long awaited entry into the fold. I am ashamed it took me this long to open up my wallet and my heart to the cause. The ACLU was one of those things I always took for granted. The thankless guards defending the castle walls of freedom while I sat on my fat, privileged ass- griped about everything- and occasionally and cursorily acknowledged the good they were doing with a tip of my vodka-filled glass and a few vitriolic mumblings about how Ronald Reagan turned this nation into an authoritarian police state that relishes in the imprisonment of its citizenry.
But the road is long and my travels have not yet ended. So today is as good a start as I'm going to get on the path to being a better, more involved individual. Might I suggest you join me in the assistance and struggle for a common, worthy cause?
It feels real good. It feels real righteous. It feels like freedom.
Who knows, once we as a nation stop pissing ourselves in fear over these undefeatable, omnipresent terrorists and crawl out from under our beds into the light of day, we may start recalling just what the hell it was like to be a nation of liberty and a defender of the inalienable rights of all.
Okay, everybody now:
They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
- Bob Dylan
Reader Comments (12)
You even look like Lenin.
And you forgot 'Fag' in your title!
My likeness to Vladimir Ilyich aside, I do not absorb the cock. Hence, the omission. But I struggle for the rights of my homosexual brothers nonetheless. Look into your soul, NBF and R. Lee Ermey (you twinkle-toed cocksucker and peanut pumper!), and understand that love has none of the boundaries you would choose to place on it.
Read the post again. Give money to the ACLU. And shut your angry trap.
You know it's the right thing to do.
Respects,
C.
Is that you, John Wayne? Is this me? Oh Relax, Joker, will you? Now go clean your bald head. I want that head so sanitary and squared away that the Virgin Mary herself would be proud to go in there and take a dump. Actally, you look more like Private Pyle. Now tuck that commie badge back into your wallet and go choke yourself.
"I used to care, but tihings have changed"
Bob Dylan
I seem to have struck a nerve amongst the indifferent and the cold. And those who cannot spell.
tihings?
Donate
http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FJ_donationhome
As it turns out, the oldest (103 yrs) surviving male concentration camp survivor is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is not at all what one would expect, given their relatively tiny numbers. He travels, and gives seminars on the holocaust. This California station covered his stop in Los Angeles:
http://cbs2.com/video/?id=102822@kcbs.dayport.com
Thanks for that Mr. Sheepandgoats. Interesting fella. Although I don't think I'd have much trouble renouncing my religion if it meant getting a pass out of a death camp.
A very understandable response, C A Moore.
Still, inferences can be drawn from the JW stand. If they refused to take up arms agianst fellow man in this, the most extreme of circumstances, surely they would not do so under any circumstances. Thus, the paradise earth where 'war will be no more' that they foresee as part of God's purpose....it is clear that peace would endure with such a populace. That can hardly be said of humankind in general. Plunk them in paradisaic conditions, and they would in short order find something to come to blows about. Beliefs do have practical consequences.
Yes. My response was more a reflection on my moral cowardice of self-preservation than anything else. It would be nice to believe in something so wholeheartedly despite the consequences. Perhaps my devout atheism amidst the threat of eternal damnation speaks well of me in that regard.
I could not agree more with your assessment of humankind's bellicose nature. There'll always be some asshole trying to eat from another's bowl or forcing their beliefs down another's throat.
I understand the JW's are a peaceful people (admirably) but I've never run across one that didn't eagerly (and intrusively) want to save my soul.
That is a form of aggression as well.