“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Silence of the Lambs in America
by Doug Hagmann
April 11, 2013
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/54423
In present-day America, we are being bombarded with
increasingly dire headlines about the condition of our nation. Common
elements among these headlines of domestic disorder and discontent are
reports of unbridled government overreach into our lives, from
much-publicized gun control laws, warrantless searches and seizures, to the
perverse and absurdly shameful degradation of our human dignity at the hands
of the TSA and the DHS.Today, we are facing an assault on our freedoms for which those who lived
before us have shed their blood, entrusting us with the gift of an
indivisible nation under God. Yes, under God.Time seems to have separated us from the ultimate sacrifices of our
forefathers, for we no longer see their blood that once stained dirt on the
battlefields of America. We no longer relate to the sorrows of our ancestors
or their sacrifices, nor do we feel the pride of their successes. We are no
longer taught the history of a nation that freed itself from tyranny and
oppression. Instead, we are subjected to the deliberate perversion of
history that characterizes our founders as terroristsalong with portraying
those of us who object to such depictions as threats to the stateby an
ever-increasing totalitarian government operating in tandem with modern-day
academia and a state-sponsored press.As Americans, we are witnessing the systematic dismantling of our country
by the incremental erosion of our liberties and rights by methods that are
shaking the very foundations upon which this country was founded. Weve seen
this before, as history is filled with examples of our current predicament;
but somehow, today, things seem different to those who are paying attention.
In many ways, things are indeed different, yet it is fitting to cite what
was written long ago: The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be;
and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new
thing under the sun.Todays headlines proclaim that those of us who cherish the rights
bestowed upon us by our Creator are now considered to be terrorists. This is
the result of the cancer of moral and cultural degradation that we have
allowed to take root in the very soil stained with the blood of our
forefathers. The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that
it leaves to its children. What are we going to tell our children and
grandchildren about what weve done to stop the metastasis of tyranny?Answering the call
Just as the insidiously evil oppression by our government existed in many
forms in the past, so does the template for freedom. The question is whether
we are prepared to answer the call to preserve our remaining rights and
regain our liberties lost. To do so, however, requires us to recognize not
just the symptoms, but the disease itself. For it is the disease of
evilaided and abetted by silence in the face of evilthat allows tyranny to
exist and flourish. Fortunately, we have an example to which we may refer.
There are lessons to be learned by history, and examples to personify.Sixty-eight years ago this week, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (pastor, martyr,
prophet and spy) [i] who was arrested in Hitlers Germany, was
hanged in Flossenburg, a Nazi death camp. Much has been written about the
life and death of this man, with particular focus on his faith-based
convictions in thought and deed. The manner in which he lived his life in a
country that experienced the perverse incremental transformation of
political, moral and religious values should not only serve as an example to
us in America, but as a warning. Properly viewed, his senseless execution by
the direct orders of a maniacal and tyrannical madman exists as a
metaphorical exclamation point at the end of a sentencehis death sentence.
He met his fate as he lived his life, with such unwavering convictions that
even the most respected of his peers were unable, or perhaps unwilling, to
stand firm beside or behind him.Sadly, most high-profile Americans claiming to possess intellectual
honesty and moral integrity (particularly those with a microphone or
keyboard and an audience of significance) seem to lack the corresponding
desire and courage to point out the disturbing similarities between the
state of Hitlers Germany and present-day America. And there are many such
parallels. The precious few who do point them out are the victims of a
relentlessly vicious campaign of character marginalization, and accusations
of racism and bigotry. We become magnets of marginalization by people with
a rabidly Progressive and Socialist mindset. Unsurprisingly, the tenor and
tempo of such accusations are rising, as they are met with little
resistance.The reason for this tenacious campaign against men and women of faith is
simple. It exists in the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and has the ability
to exist in each of us, should we summon the courage to be steadfast in our
refusal to acquiesce to the tolerance of evil. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was
outspoken against those who remained silent in the face of the moral and
religious degradation of his country. He spoke out against lukewarm pastors
and cultural Christians who supported Hitler, or acquiesced under the
pressure of the false doctrine of tolerance.As weve seen from issues ranging from infanticide to the insidiousness
built into the health care bill that requires Christians to act against
their beliefs, the majority of the Christian conservatives have capitulated
through compromise. Unlike Dietrich Bonhoeffer, they endorse the perversity
of political and social correctness that exists in present-day America,
opting against taking a stand for their faith.As God-believing Americans who cherish the rights bestowed upon us and
enumerated within our Constitution (perhaps better known in the Western
media as bitter clingers), we are in the midst of the destructive
transformation of our nation. The tinder is present and ready for ignition,
needing only one spark from any source to ignite America into a state of
chaos that would result in a tyrannical clampdown.The firewall to prevent this transformationthe Christian leaders and the
body of the churchis crumbling by inaction and outright apostasy. The
parallels between the present-day United States and Hitlers Germany are
evident. Just as the similarities are evident, so is our collective
inaction, which is eviscerating the very soul of America. It is this silence
and inaction that will rip America from her Judeo-Christian foundations, and
make it possible for a fall of biblical proportions.Sixty-eight years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer died not only for his faith,
but to illustrate that we must not be silent in the face of tyranny. If not
for our own sakes, let us summon that same courage for the sake of our
children and their children. After all, the ultimate test of a moral society
is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.[ii][i]
Metaxas, Eric Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy Thomas
Nelsen, 2010.
[ii] Ibid.