Editor’s note: This commentary is by Weiland Ross, a resident of Sunderland.
In 1946 there appeared a poem written by Rev. Martin Niemoller titled “Then They Came For Me.” Niemoller was a clergyman in Germany who for several years was a strong supporter of Hitler and the Nazi movement. At some point he realized the fallacy of his position and began to criticize the Nazis. He was imprisoned at Dachau, but escaped the Holocaust.
In Nazi Germany, demand for conformity spread from the national level down to the state and local levels. People fell into a mob rule mentality and turned on each other to demand conformity.
A similar mentality has emerged in the U.S. in the past several years.
His poem lists the groups being purged by the Nazis, and his reaction. The poem reads, in part, ‘First they came for the ___, I did not speak out. Then they came for the___, I did not speak out. When they came for me, there was no-one left to speak out for me.’
The lesson here is clear. A political party spent several years gaining control of the government and then demanded complete conformity to their ideas. They implemented a concentrated ‘fake news’ machine which relied on the dictum that a lie repeated over and over becomes the truth. Anyone who opposed them were considered undesirable as members of society and were to be deplored and silenced. No dissent of any kind was tolerated.
The Nazis soon had a devoted following that did not sense the danger in their demand for ideological purity. They were supported in their programs by major corporations that profited by going along with their movement. Before long the demand for conformity spread from the national level down to the state and local levels. People fell into a mob rule mentality and turned on each other to demand conformity.
A similar mentality has emerged in the U.S. in the past several years. We have seen the rise of the ‘cancel culture’ and its demand to re-write our history to fit a confused set of new social and cultural memes. Too many people smiled vacantly as our national sovereignty was attacked by the open border folly and the ‘sanctuary’ cities and states that refuse to enforce federal laws. ‘Identity politics’ became a major force. Members of any identifiable group were told that they have no status as individual persons. Their only worth is determined by their membership in a group. Individual responsibility and free thought are considered dangerous.
The virtues that made our great nation are now under attack by those who would control our society for their own gain.
Vermont has not been immune to these trends. Too many Vermonters have mindlessly joined the movement to destroy the traditional values of our democracy. Controversial speakers are not tolerated at our most prestigious colleges, i.e., the riots at Middlebury two years ago. This past year has seen a series of abuses of freedom, i.e., the privileged status of the Black Lives Matter group. This group is controversial for several reasons, even though some of its goals are worthy. State and local official officials are afraid of them. They are permitted to paint their slogans on city streets and highways, but other groups are denied this opportunity.
BLM is a private political group, but their flag is flown officially at several schools around the state. No other political group is given this perk. When a group of voters in the Mill River School District tried to submit a petition to their school board to remove the BLM flag, they were told that they had no right to submit such a petition. So much for dissent.
Attacks on personal free speech are routine. The principal of a high school in Windsor County was forced to resign because she posted some comments on social media that were in support of President Trump. These were personal remarks not made in school or in any official part of her job. How can we justify punishing someone for speaking freely? The same question arises in the case of the Vermont State Police trooper who was forced to resign because he posted a comment on social media. Again, this was not done in any official police capacity, but as a private citizen. What happened to his right to express an opinion in a democracy?
Perhaps the most potentially dangerous abuse came last week when a legislator requested the attorney general if it was possible to subpoena the bus company that drove 51 Vermonters to Washington to attend the pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6 to supply the names of those who went. For what purpose? This representative has no right to inquire about these names. They broke no laws. The right to travel freely has been established by the U.S. Supreme Court in several rulings. Her only motive could be some kind of harassment of these people for being active participants in our democracy.
If free expression of ideas by our citizens is no longer tolerated in our peaceful little state, we have no choice but to be afraid, very afraid, of the steps that could follow.
“Be not afraid.” Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you but when people try to intimidate me, it makes me angry and I push back. Speak out while you can.
“A legislator requested” and “her only motive”. Who is she? Do we have a right to know?
I’d appreciate knowing this legislator’s name as well – is it a State secret?
Legislator is Rep. Vyhovsky, listed as a Dem/Prog.
Hide your muskets and powder, for the British are coming.
Comrade Al,
Not possible to hide from us! Minus you 45 social credit for inciting insurrection!
Nearly 80 million people voted for Trump. We remain a very powerful force, and they hate that. Now is not the time to cower, but to stand stronger than ever. Their hatred of Trump, and of us, is what holds them together. Now that Trump is gone, they will soon devour each other. Don’t lose heart. Don’t put your MAGA gear away – wear it proudly. If they want to come for me – bring it on. The patriots who founded our state and our nation would never have backed down from this silliness. They are my inspiration.
Amen!
Comrade Baker,
I hear it was more than that. 87 million was the number put forth. We will never really know will we?
We need to join forces with those who may not be conservative, but nonetheless see the dangers to liberty that are everywhere manifest. The World Freedom Alliance is a group based in Stockholm composed mainly of medical people who oppose the use of Covid to impose authoritarian regimes. https://worldfreedomalliance.org/
The water boiling the frogs just got warmer. Get off your behinds and start fighting. Stop acting like little girls.
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Declaration of Independence.
“If free expression of ideas is no longer…” “No longer?” Seriously? It’s been condemned and attacked for years – and it got a quantum leap when Trump got elected. The Progressives went lunatic. Misspeak a gender? They’re as tolerant as a badger with a hangover. An aggressive known felon gets shot? They burn down their own neighborhood. Express the very probable opinion that man has no control over climate? Get demonized, shunned in the AGW community and lose your professorship. Give a talk on free market capitalism and the Sturmabteilung barricades the lecture hall. Or torches it. I’m watching for “Salem ’62 – Burn ‘Em” sweatshirts.
martin luther king said it, sorry that the propaganda forbids the obvious
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K0BWXjJv5s
Great link, I wish like in the past these video’s would show up within the email so people could just click on them. I know it’s not different than clicking on a link but I think it’s much more effective.
Great Video link…….great words of wisdom, they seem to be in opposition from what the radicals are doing and teaching…
Mr. Ross opines:
“If free expression of ideas by our citizens is no longer tolerated in our peaceful little state we have no choice but to be afraid, very afraid, of the steps that could follow.”
There is no “If” anymore……..The intolerance is here at this moment and growing. Ross’ essay lays out many recent examples of the intolerance we have witnessed here in Vermont in just the past months. The VTDigger can be added to the list, it shut down free speech when it ended its comments sections silencing Vermont voices, many of them conservative. There are many more examples occurring everyday in this country on the streets, campuses, media, internet and just about everywhere.
Just today in a column, Max Boot a writer from the Washington Post called on the cable companies to shut down Fox News and other conservative news outlets. Think of it, a writer from the Washington Post calling for shutting down free speech. He also praised Twitter, Facebook and the other big tech giants for throwing people off of social media and shutting them up.
This scary……Intolerance is here today………Its not coming……It’s here now…….Who or what is next?
Interesting, as a Reverend one would think from the teachings of Jesus he could discern truth from lies, good and evil. Well I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, we have major divisions within our churches today based upon sex for one example. It’s pretty clear, the teachings say they ideal is to have sex for marriage only.
Now seriously, when did you last hear a church talking that way?
No….it’s sexual free for all.
When was the last time you heard counselors talking about the danger of Pride? It doesn’t even exist in their language!!!!
You can see videos of churches talking about fighting this, hating that, rebelling against this and that. Do we discuss men being fools and women being odious today? lol….
Yeah it shouldn’t surprise me. How did we get so far off track? There are amazing teachings, truth and wisdom in this book called the Bible that would transform anyone’s life. lol….not a real popular book in Vermont. It’s a wonderful read.
Beautiful job Weiland.
“It’s not dark yet but it’s gettin’ there.”