NO ONE LEFT

Perhaps the new version of the old saying goes something like this:

First they came...

First they came for the car unions,

and I didn't speak out because I didn't work in Detroit.

Then they came for the air traffic controllers,

and I didn't speak out because I thought, yeah they are too entitled.

Then they came for the welfare mothers,

and I didn't speak out because I thought, yeah they are lazy, aren't they?

Then they came for the all the industrial workers,

and I didn't speak out because I thought, well, NAFTA could be good for me.

Then they came for the free press,

and I didn't speak out because I believed it was fair and balanced.

Then they came for everyone's savings and retirement money,

and I didn't speak out because I thought bubbles happen and deregulation will make me money.

Then they came for people with houses and predatory loans,

and I didn't speak out because they said greedy low-income people brought down the system.

Then they came for the right to an education,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a student or a teacher.

Then they came for those who organized to fight the rich,

and I didn't speak out because I believe them when they said it was about the budget.

Then they came for me

and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Author unknown, at least to me.