"First 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 for me."
- Martin Niemoller
Every fight is our fight because we are next.
"It's time to go to bed Danny" my mother whispers. A small smile hesitantly creeps onto my gray, dirt covered face. I love sleeping. It feels like everything is okay for a while, like a quick escape.
My mother tucks me into our makeshift cardboard and linen scrap bed and holds me tightly. We're sleeping in a half open store that used to be a corner store in Florida. I hear whispers throughout the rat-ridden city. Whispers that used to scare me but now I'm used to it.
"Can I get a quick bedtime story?" I hopefully ask. My mother sighs but hesitantly agrees and tells me my favorite.
"There was once a beautiful, gleaming country full of joy and harmony. Its king led with a fair and kind hand, fighting for the health and rights of everyone, no matter what they believed in or what they were born like. Sure there were problems, but with a few more years and a lot more education, people had hope that it could be fixed.
One day, the King decided that he had been ruling too long, and decided to give the people the option of choosing their next ruler. The majority of the people voted for a promising Queen who shared the same ideals and hopeful vision as the kind King. Everyone was sure that she would win.
But little did the nation know, there had been a plot against her. Overnight, a greedy thief rolled in and stole her crown from her bedside.
Next day at the crowning ceremony, the nation expected to see their chosen Queen being crowned. However, instead, they saw a rotten pumpkin stinking of corruption and intolerance sitting on the velvet throne.
To the civilians surprise, many of their fellow civilians cheered. Then the pumpkin cast an evil spell on the nation, causing those that voted for him to turn red and those that voted against him to turn blue.
The Reds cheered him on as he used his powers to the full extent, establishing a dictatorship. Nobody could tell him anything for fear of losing their jobs. The situation became worse and worse as intellectuals, journalists, and those he deemed were dangerous cast out. On the tenth day, he imposed a ban on all those who believed in something different and those coming from places where many people believed in something different.
The Blues protested and fought hard to stop the pumpkin but couldn't. He wouldn't listen to anybody.
Next, he imposed bans on those coming from all other nations. He imposed rules that encouraged book burning. He destroyed libraries and censored the news. He imposed a stupid, incompetent lady named Umbridge DeVos, who destroyed the entire education system. Civilians worried for their children, even the Reds, but it was too late."
In the meantime, only those brave enough fought against him. But the majority stood silent and did nothing since it didn't affect them.
The remaining states with mostly Blues gave up and decided to leave. The majority blue states of the East Coast and West Coast left and formed their own countries. With most of the nation's economy in two different countries now, mass starvation spread. At that time, it didn't matter if you were a young white boy, Danny. With little tools and no education to better their lives, everyone lay scared in the streets."
How scary is it that the quote by Martin Niemoller and the story I created are as applicable now as it was during World War II, a time synonymous with innocent deaths because of the sick mind of a man cunning enough to take advantage of the vulnerable?
