Having recently become acquainted with several musicians living in Ukraine, I’ve realized that their country is an advanced democracy that is not culturally very different from our own. I am increasingly fearful when I hear Washington politicians speaking of withdrawing military support from Ukraine.
I am reminded of the famous words of Pastor Martin Niemöller, delivered in the aftermath of World War II, which begin: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist,” and ends, finally, with: “… then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
As a nation, it is important for us to stand against unjustified invasion and war crimes. Learning this lesson of history is painful but should be required.
David Scotton
Cape Elizabeth
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