Liberty Quotes

"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."
-- Reverend Martin Niemoeller
(1892-1984) German Lutheran pastor, was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Dachau in 1938. He was freed by the allied forces in 1945.
Source: Poem in 1976 translated from German
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Martin.Niemoeller.Quote.4E05

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Thomas.Jefferson.Quote.C09C

"But if you say, you can still pass the violations over, then I ask, hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have not, then you are not a judge of those who have. But if you have, and can still shake hands with the murderers, then you are unworthy of the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward and the spirit of a sycophant." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809) Source: Common Sense, 1776
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Thomas.Paine.Quote.91BA