From: "Richard Sanders" <richard@quest2025.net>
To: "'Philip Sutton'" <Philip.Sutton@green-innovations.asn.au>,
<greenleap@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [greenleap] The new heroes - and encouraging more?
Date sent: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 15:13:29 +1000
Dear Philip and Greenleapers,
I support this proposal but I also think we could (and should) take it one
step further.
I suspect our current batch of leaders (of all persuasions) are suffering
from very foggy vision and are inadvertently serving the cause of terrorism
by stripping away the very hard won pillars of our democracy.
This could lead to an inadvertent and disastrous slide to fascism from which
there may be no return (i.e. fortress world).
Franklin D. Roosevelt warned in the 1930s that "The liberty of democracy is
not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where
it becomes stronger than that of the state itself. That, in essence, is
fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any
controlling private power."
I suggest that all people of goodwill need to work together to ensure such a
disastrous mistake does not eventuate. Would others be interested in
forming an organization "Defenders of Democracy" with the explicit aim of
preventing such an inadvertent and disastrous slide to fascism? If we the
people don't defend our democracy against the current blindness then I don't
know who will.
Perhaps some of those you mentioned Philip could be invited to be patrons?
This idea needs refining but I think the general thrust is clear.
I am reminded of Martin Niemoller's words:
First they came 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 Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a
Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up
for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945