I keep reading the news and I’m reminded of the Pastor Martin Niemöller. Here is a modern adaptation of Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem First They Came…:

When they sued the file sharing mothers,
I remained silent;
I switched to another network.

When they tapped our phone lines,
I did not speak out;
I no longer used my phone.

When they came for the guitar tabs,
I remained silent;
I no longer played the guitar.

When they opened and read personal letters,
I did not speak out;
I no longer used the mail service.

When they told us not to think,
we already no longer used our minds.

—–

Original
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestierte.

Translation
When they 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 did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

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