And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me”
— Martin Niemöller
This week, while trying to enter Israel, my mother was detained and questioned for her involvement in a humanitarian non-profit organization that works for equality in Israel. She was released in a little over an hour. I was concerned, but I wasn’t terrified. And I was struck by how much more dangerous the lives of Palestinians, of Arab Israelis, of Muslim Americans, must be. How scary it must be to get a text from your family member that says nothing but “I have been detained by passport security.” As bizarre as this was for my family, it is nothing compared to the daily lives of Muslim Americans and refugees attempting to enter the United States, or Israel, for that matter.
Emboldened by the new discriminatory policies of the current administration in the United States, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has enacted a series of discriminatory laws. Some expand the settlements and infringe even further on the rights of Palestinians, others infringe on the rights of Arabs living in the state of Israel, and still more infringe on the rights of humanitarian workers, lawyers, and activist to fight for civil liberties and equality within the state of Israel.
All Americans should take heed; this is our future. When the value of “security” becomes so great that citizens are willing to give up their freedoms, and the freedoms of more distant others, democracy disintegrates. Thankfully, will still have a largely free and independent press that can avoid fear mongering if it so chooses. But, there is a large portion of the media that no longer cares about the facts, including the White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, and Advisor to the President, Kellyanne Conway. Not to mention Breitbart News, which was formerly run by a Senior Advisor to the President, Steve Bannon. This three figures and the institutions they represent are completely unbound to facts. When they do decide to use facts, they distort them and use them to their advantage. Over the summer, I had to read the Israeli news every morning. And what I saw was eerily similar to what we’re seeing in America today. If we continue down the path we are currently on, I see our country becoming a place governed by fear and hate.
This is not the America I know. This is not an America I will allow to exist. Our values are what makes us strong, and when we abandon them, we become weak. We create propaganda for terrorist organizations and extremist governments. But silence is not a word in my vocabulary, and it shouldn’t be in yours. When Elizabeth Warren was told to sit down, she persisted. We must all persist. It is the responsibility of every person in this country, civic-minded or not, to stand up for the vulnerable, to defend their own rights, the rights of all Americans, and the rights of all people who wish to come to this (once) great nation. I may not be a person of color, I may not be part of the LGBTQ community, I may not be Muslim, but I will speak out—because I am an American, I am a defender of liberty. Are you?