Why Save Others from Oppression?

You may know the following quote from German pastor Martin Niemöller. More about him below.

“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left who could protest.”

He was saying that we need to speak out when other groups are being oppressed so that they are there for us if we are oppressed. A step up from pure self-interest. But, isn’t this a rather transactional view of ethics?

Perhaps we should speak out when others are being oppressed just because it is the right thing to do?

Many people think that God is the source of ethics. Philosopher Bertrand Russell challenged this a century ago in his essay “Why I am not a Christian.” Perhaps God arbitrarily chooses what is right and what is wrong? He could have made stealing and murder be right things. In that case, God’s version of what is “right” clearly has nothing to do with what is “good.”

The other possibility is that what is right and wrong exist independently of God. In which case we don’t need God to tell us what is right and wrong.

Trump’s ICE is terrorizing immigrants who have lived here for decades. Or who were brought here as children. Nothing to do with controlling borders. Yet millions of Americans justify this, saying that these people are here “illegally.” It was also illegal to be Jewish in Nazi Germany. Not because there was anything wrong with being Jewish, but because the laws were wrong.

Note: The Border Patrol was created 100 years ago “to preserve racial type as it exists here today.”

How do we know when a law is “wrong”? When it unjustly hurts people. “Border Czar” Tom Homan has justified extreme measures, including raiding schools, because he’s enforcing the law. He argues that if you don’t like the law, you should change it.

Yes, changing the law would be ideal. But, for hundreds of years, it was legal to enslave some Americans. And there was no way to change that law. The electoral and legal system was rigged to favor slave holders.

For decades, Democrats and some Republicans have tried to change immigration law by popular demand. Congress almost changed the law in 2024, but Trump had Republicans kill it. Clearly, our electoral and legal system is seriously flawed when a majority of Americans agree that a law is wrong, yet it remains. But, even if most Americans are accepting of a cruel law, it is still wrong.

Note: As I researched this article, The Nation magazine wrote about Martin Niemöller. He was an avid Nazi supporter. He was later indeed imprisoned by the Nazis. But, not for speaking out on behalf of oppressed groups. He got upset that the Nazis were trying to control what went on in his church. After being imprisoned for eight years, he still held Nazi ideals. Slow change came later. It is not clear he ever really got over hating Jews. What happened is far more complex and I suggest you Google “Nation Magazine Niemöller” and read that article.

In 1977 Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer did the “Copy Machine Study.” She had volunteers cut in line in a busy copy machine room, offering three different “explanations.” 

1. Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?
2. Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I’m in a rush? 
3. Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make copies?

It turned out the comparative nonsense of “explanation” #3 worked just as well as #2. (#1 did not work well!) Why? “Because” is a magic word. As long as a behavior can be made to seem justifiable (“I’m doing this because…”), we perform the behavior even if the reasoning doesn’t make sense. We thus shouldn’t look for a reason to reduce suffering and injustice. We should just do what is right because it is right!