I was thinking about this saying when I was at an ecumenical meeting about Sudan in Germany in the middle of June. The minibus from the airport took us past the site of the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belson just north of Hanover, where thousands of innocent people were killed in the name of the German government at the time, and buried in mass graves. It is a sombre place. Arguably the evil of the regime at the time was spawned by economic fears and poverty and the lack of national respect and standing in the world following defeat in the First World War. And yet millions of people just stood by and did nothing about the racial evil that was being conducted under their noses.
The oft quoted saying above is attributed by some to Edmond Burke, the 18th century philosopher and at one time MP for Bristol; others to John F Kennedy, the US President assassinated in 1963. But actually we don't know for sure who first spoke or wrote these words. If he did say it, the President may have talking about the prejudice and suffering of black people in the United States at the time when they were forced to travel in the rear of the bus, and not admitted to some restaurants or bars because of their colour. Burke may have had in mind his opposition to the revolution in France at the time.
Today, great concern has been expressed by many people following the election of two British National Party members to the European Parliament. Indeed the Church - the Archbishops of Canterbury and York - went so far as to say that electors should not vote for BNP candidates. So should the Church be interfering like this - after all, for whatever reason sufficient numbers of people voted for the BNP which is their inalienable right in a democratic country? It may have been a protest vote in these times of hardship and uncertainty through the current economic crisis, generating fears and insecurity, and mistaken threats to employment; so we retreat into our bunkers. Archbishop Desmond Tutu - who was installed as a Canon of our Cathedral in Salisbury last year - memorably said to such a question that the Church should not be involved in politics - 'I wonder which Gospel (in the Bible) they have been reading'. As Christians but also as human beings, concerned for the welfare of all people, we should be involved in the 'polis' (the life of the state or city in ancient Greece) and be bold enough to point out when the policies and activities of politicians and others are so blatantly discriminatory and racist and denying of the hard won freedoms from tyranny that our forbears secured for us in the 20th century.
We all need to be open to the injustices that self centeredness can all too easily drive us into through the narrowness of our values and thinking, and our indifference to the needs of others and all too often our 'do nothing' response with a coldness of heart. If we are to help bring about that 'abundant life for all' that Jesus promises in St. John's Gospel we need to speak out against those who deny to others what they want for themselves.
If we can help bring about a better life for others we will be doing the same for ourselves at the same time.
With love and prayers
Ian