First They Came for the Uninsured

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not protest;
I was not a trade unionist.

Then 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 for me.

- Pastor Martin Niemöller

Overwrought to compare that to the U.S. healthcare crisis? Perhaps. It probably feels different if you haven't lost a loved one because of it.

Pastor Niemöller's point is that if a society doesn't value solidarity - even solidarity to protect those in disagreement with one another - then we allow predators to pick us off.

Solidarity is a value often mentioned in other industrialized nations. Not at all in the U.S., where it sounds subversive - doesn't it?