Before I start I want to say that if you start reading the following paragraph you have to keep reading to the end.
According to the Idaho State Journal, this weekend an Aryan Nation affiliate left fliers around Pocatello. I find the ideas the Aryan Nation spreads disgusting, but one very specific purpose I’m glad they did it.
The reason is because of a deeply held belief I have that people need to be offended on a regular basis to examine their beliefs and and to shake up their apathy.
I think the saying, “Evil prevails when good men do nothing,” is rooted in apathy. If people aren’t offended on a regular basis, they allow evil to happen.
The effects of apathy are captured in the following poem, attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller, referring to Nazi Germany
“THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
THEN THEY CAME for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
So if you find yourself in a situation where you are offended, take full advantage of it. Use it as an opportunity to re-examine your most closely held thoughts and beliefs and use it as fuel for action.
