will have to repent
for the fears, apathy of
the children of light …
… history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
Our generation will have to repent not only for the acts and words of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light.
From the book Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story by Martin Luther King, Jr., (San Francisco, Harper San Francisco, 1958).
In a column in the New York Times, Thomas B. Edsall asks the question, ‘How does this process of generating tolerance for authoritarianism work?’
In answer, Mr. Edsall quotes one Adam Parkhomenko who wrote:
“Evil intentions are floated.
Reactions are assessed.
Weaknesses are exploited.
Intentions are repeated.
Wrongs become desensitized.
Scapegoats are named.
Opposition is divided and conquered.
Power is grabbed.
Distractions are created.
Dissent is squashed.
Then, with the groundwork complete, what was once considered unthinkable becomes reality.”
And when it is all over, our generation will have to repent not only for the acts and words of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light.
No Haiku For You 