In one of the most egregious violations of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech seen in quite some time, Tarek Mehanna, an American Muslim, was convicted this week in a federal court in Boston and then sentenced yesterday to 17 years in prison.The author posts a most stirring speech by another persecuted US Muslim in response to his verdict, and other important links that give more background information on his legal case.
This is, indeed, shocking. It appears that US society is definitely sliding down a very slippery slope--and to our doom. The only force I see that can prevent this is the Occupy movement. We simply must support it with all the energy and resources we have. The government of, by, and for the One Percent is going after us, and they will succeed if we do nothing. It brings to mind the famous statement of Rev. Niemöller with regard to Nazi Germany:
If one replaces "Jews:" with "Muslims", his statement appears to be quite literally prophetic for the present time. (Trade unions were long ago purged of leftists along with many other "commies" during the McCarthy period.)First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.