The Sin of Silence

Dear Reader, This is an email message I received from my Aunt Eleanor:

"Dear Dick: Last night at our Yom Kippur dinner ["Day of Atonement," a Jewish High Holy Day], Uncle Gene read a portion of the booklet they read at temple which spoke about the sin of silence which we have regarding the war[s]. You speak so eloquently about it but I don't see marches any more, speaking out against the war[s] any more. For shame! On all of us. Love, Aunt Eleanor." [9/29/09]

For shame is right! Even the temple, like other religious institutions across America didn't speak of the wars as a sin of silence, nor take action to stop them, nor have they gotten involved to help those so desperately in need from those wars. They are silent.

Here was my response to my Aunt Eleanor:

"Dear Aunt Eleanor, Thank you for raising this grave issue of the sin of silence.

The sin of silence let the Nazis take control of Germany and then as the silence continued, it allowed them to end the German democracy and commit horrific mind numbing acts of mass murder and torture upon mankind.

Ultimately, the price of that silence was paid in rivers of blood and tears and starvation and homelessness and financial collapse as Europe had to be rebuilt. Japan and China also suffered massive death and destruction and were also left in ruins.

Then there is today. A time when confronted by two wars, American religious leaders of all persuasions sit in silence as do most of the American people.

Following 9/11, the U.S. illegally invaded and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. Silence.

These wars were committed and justified by a President and his Administration that lied to the American people. Silence.

Thousands upon thousands of men, women and children killed and injured, while millions of others were forced to flee their homes. Silence.

Iraq and its ancient culture destroyed. Silence.

U.S. soldiers killed and injured and their families left to fend for themselves. Silence.

A huge U.S. mercenary Army is formed for the first time [in U.S. history], seemingly answerable to no-one, and it commits horrific crimes. Silence.

Seizure and torture of foreign nationals by the U.S. becomes common. Silence.

Because of the "War on Terror," the [the protections of the] U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights are suspended as the President chooses. One of his first acts is to spy on the American people. Silence.

A new charismatic President is elected partly because he promises to end the Iraq War. Instead, once in office, he adopts the former President's Iraq policies while escalating the Afghanistan War and further spreading it to Pakistan. Silence.

In this din of silence, can there be any reasonable expectation that events will turn out well?

Perhaps we should ask the Iraqis, Afghans and Pakistanis what they think. But wait, we don't listen to them. To us, they are silent.

One day, we may finally find all of this unconscionable and raise our voices. But who will be there to listen? Who will care? The answer we receive may be silence.

Dick"