Political Speech - Innapropriate, or Essential?

[pameladlloyd]

I've been struggling with the issue of how much I should say about politics in this blog, not because I think I should be silent on this issue (I don't), but because I've noticed that many people prefer to maintain some distance between their personal, work-oriented, and political journaling. So far, I've maintained this journal as a mix of the three, but as I've begun to express more political views, I wonder if that's making my friends who know me from non-political venues uncomfortable. Yet, at the same time, I'm very concerned about the direction of politics in my country, right now. I've considered creating a second journal, in which to discuss politics, but I haven't felt entirely comfortable about that either. For now, I think I will continue to make the occasional political post. There are many important issues and they touch on both my personal and writing life: issues of censorship, what it means to be a woman in today's world, how we as concerned citizens should respond when we are in disagreement with our government's actions, the information we share with others about candidates, and so much more. Ultimately, perhaps, all the issues come down to freedom: How do we define it? and, How do we ensure it?

Because the issue of speaking out and of silence have been very much on my mind recently, I want to share this poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892—1984) that I first encountered while I was in college in the late seventies. He apparently used many variations of this poem in different venues and there is dissagreement as to which is the "correct" version. You can read about this poem and its variants on Wikipedia.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Comments

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

I worry the same question. I am unahamedly political, but I also love having a space (and friends) where politics doesn't exclude. I have friends from across the political spectrum and I know them through a range of places and I really like having places we can meet. I may only let politics intrude occasinally in LJ and my other blog because that place to meet is so important to me, but I rather suspect politics are going to creep into the speech I'm supposed to be doing at Conflux.

[pdlloyd.livejournal.com]

Yes. We live in uncertain times, I think, which results in a need to speak up. And, yes, it is nice to have a safe place, where all our friends feel welcome. I hope that all my friends, in RL and online, know that I welcome them regardless of any political differences we may have and that I have no desire to stifle anyone's voice.