What Must Be Said

I not only believe that rights should apply to U.S. citizens while in the U.S., they should apply to all humans, everywhere. If freedom of speech applies here, and we want to offer it to our enemies to be emulated, it equally applies to those we call our friends and allies – including Israel (which, contrary to some head-in-the-sand Israeliphiles, does not always make the right choices or act within the bounds of propriety).

For example: Israel (in a move that smacks of Iran) has banned entry into its country. German novelist and Nobel Prize winner, Gunter Grass, penned the following poem:

What Must Be Said

 by Gunter Grass 

(Translation provided by The Guardian)

But why have I kept silent till now?

Because I thought my own origins,

Tarnished by a stain that can never be removed,

meant I could not expect Israel, a land

to which I am, and always will be, attached,

to accept this open declaration of the truth.

Why only now, grown old,

and with what ink remains, do I say:

Israel's atomic power endangers

an already fragile world peace?

Because what must be said

may be too late tomorrow;

and because - burdened enough as Germans -

we may be providing material for a crime

that is foreseeable, so that our complicity

will not be expunged by any

of the usual excuses.

And granted: I've broken my silence

because I'm sick of the West's hypocrisy;

and I hope too that many may be freed

from their silence, may demand

that those responsible for the open danger we face renounce the use of force,

may insist that the governments of

both Iran and Israel allow an international authority

free and open inspection of

the nuclear potential and capability of both. 

You may not agree, you may strongly disagree, but it is not an idea that should be buried by force, ignorance, disdain, or state action. It is a valid topic of discussion. While you may not agree, you should at least try to understand why many do agree with Gunter Grass. At the very least, you should stand by Mr. Grass' right to express his opinions and thoughts, however unpopular or truthful they may be in the face of those who wish to ignore them – even our historical ally, Israel.

Loren M. Lambert © April 9, 2012