Freedom is a Delicate Thing

Charlie Foxtrot's Avatar
I've been long inspired by the original poem "First they came.."
I have also wanted to make a more modern rendition in light of recent events in our own country.
As James Madison warned us long ago: "If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
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They came first for the immigrants,
and I didn't speak up because I considered myself a natural born citizen.

Then they came for the homosexuals,
and I didn't speak up because I considered myself a heterosexual.

Then they came for the Muslims,
and I didn't speak up because I considered my self agnostic.

But then they asked me to prove that I was American,
and because I could not provide a "long form birth certificate" they said I was not actually born here.

Then they said I had inappropriate associations with those of my own sex,
and because I could not conclusively prove my sexuality I was condemned as a faggot.

Then they questioned my faith,
and because I had never been in a Christian Church they assumed I was a Muslim.

When they assumed I was Muslim they inferred I was a Terrorist and hated America,
and by then my fate was sealed.

And by then anyone else who may have come to my defense was also branded an illegal immigrant, homosexual Muslim...

This is how Liberty dies: one presumed Freedom at a time.