The Sounds of Silence

In my last essay, I shared a recent hopeful experience that reminded me that a glimmer of light still shines at the end of what has become an endless tunnel that began back in January 2017. I still believe in the promise of “a more perfect union” but once again, what seems to have become the daily outrage, has shown its ugly head with the shooting, by ICE officers, of Renee Nicole Good and now, Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Minneapolis is being overrun by what can only be called an occupying force who seem determined to terrorize an entire community. It tears at the heart that this young mother and young man were shot only for exercising their first amendment rights. Every day it seems we are stunned by yet another disturbing act by the current administration. Every day we ask the question, “can they do that?” As disturbing as these actions are, more disturbing is the crushing silence that permeates the body politic.

Most shocking is the silence in the halls of Congress. Where is the outrage among the larger portion of the Republican Caucus in both the House and the Senate? I refer not to the camera hogs that appear on the cable news networks or the multitudes of podcasts that permeate the social media landscape. I refer to the many representatives and senators from districts and states around the country who consistently choose silence, not only in the face of egregious violations of basic civil liberties, but also as a variety of foreign policy actions shake the diplomatic world to its core. Is the President of the United States really declaring himself the Acting President of Venezuela? Is he actually threatening a military action on Greenland… or Cuba… or Columbia… or Iran? Is he really threatening American citizens with the initiation of the Insurrection Act as they exercise their first amendment rights? How in the world did we get here?

In 1944, a legend emerged about Joseph Stalin. It seems that Stalin was informed of the Pope’s dissatisfaction with his actions. His remark to Winston Churchill became the stuff of legend because, to show his disregard, he is said to have remarked, "The Pope? The Pope? How many divisions does the Pope have?”

In the beginning, the Framers of our emerging nation, including James Madison and John Adams, frequently debated the necessity of "public virtue" for the survival of the republic. They argued that the system of checks and balances could only endure if animated by a public debate and demonstration of moral courage and statesmanship. The current silence among so many indicates a failure to live up to those ideals and as a result, the fracturing of the virtue in our body politic continues to worsen with every day especially in the streets of American cities. Critics argue that Congress has become disfigured by a culture that rewards ambition over honor, performative rage over principled leadership, and personal gain over public duty. This environment discourages members from challenging party leaders, even when necessary, leading to a collective silence on our most important issues.

Setting aside the question of the silence of Congress, even more questions are begged: Where are the corporate leaders? Where are the modern day titans of industry? Why are they silent? Why are they not marching with the citizens in the streets of Minneapolis. Are there no business leaders who will stand up for justice for the people of Minnesota?

Where are the leaders of the major unions? Where are the same union leaders who, fifty plus years ago, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King to achieve justice for Black Americans?

Where are those of the artistic community, the actors, artists, writers, and other media professionals who historically have risen to challenge tyranny and corruption when issues become as egregious as to threaten our very democracy?

Where are the faith leaders? Where are those clergy who, every Sunday, stand righteously in the pulpit and preach the gospel of virtue and love for our neighbors?

Where are our government leaders? The Court is silent. The Congress is broken. Military commanders stand stoically silent. And so, only the free press stands between Americans and tyranny.

The sounds of silence are screaming ever louder for collective action. Why have all these groups not collectively called for a national strike to drive these issues into the larger national consciousness. Do they not know what the song writer Paul Simon wrote way back in 1966: “Silence like a cancer grows.”

Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti are only the more recent tragedies of Donald Trump’s brand of tyranny and they likely will not be the last. It’s time for every aspect of American society to come together, to join hands and march together to stop the abomination that is currently oppressing Minneapolis. Soon, if left unchecked, the men in masks will most certainly show themselves in a community near you.

History tells us that Martin Niemoller was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany. In the 1920s and 1930s, he sympathized with many Nazi ideas and supported right wing political movements. After 1933, when Hitler came to power, he became an outspoken critic of his interference with the Protestant Church. Niemoller spent the last eight years of Nazi rule, from 1937 to 1945, in Nazi prisons and concentration camps. After the war he said a version of the following:

“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, but I did not speak out… because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the communists, the homosexuals, and the mentally disabled, but I did not speak out… because I was not one of those.

Then they came for me… and there was no one left to speak out."

If a democratic society aspires to is to be truly virtuous (and it can be forcefully argued that it should) it can never be heard above the sounds of silence. Silence, in the face of tyranny, is never a luxury that democratic peoples can afford. Tyranny thrives in silence. Civic virtue is found on the parapets of moral courage. It forms the wall against tyranny and oppression that must never be breached. It is the shield with which we fight for justice. Dr. King said it simply, “All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper.” Thomas Jefferson warned, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” Edmund Burke also agreed, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” We know what needs to be done because history offers plentiful examples of what happens when we appease tyrants. As clarion call now shatters the silence. It is high time for all virtuous Americans, from every corner of our land, to come together and meet this moment. Minneapolis has proven that courage is contagious. Frederick Douglass showed us the way. “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will”.

Let The Conversation Begin