against the dying of the light

In late 2003, I had dinner with a man who had spent his life fighting the apartheid government in South Africa. He said a lot of things that night that I took to heart, but one chilled everyone at the table:
"In all my years running from the government of my homeland, hiding from the police, in jail, in the streets, standing against that oppression, I was never so frightened as I am travelling in America today."
We asked him why, of course, being Americans, and being shocked.
"Because in apartheid South Africa, if the police kicked down your door and locked you up on trumped-up charges, your family and friends would protest, they would know it was wrong, they would fight for your freedom, even if they failed. In America, if you were locked up and the government levied false charges or held you without trial, your family--your family--would say, well, maybe we didn't know him so well. Maybe the government knows something we don't."
It was quiet for a little while.

I'm sorry I didn't tell enough people, Farid. Thank you for trying.