Remembering The Past
Today is the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. A place where millions of innocents were slaughtered for an ideology of hate. Jews, gypsies, prisoners of war, political opponents, and homosexuals were killed, over one million in this place. The Soviets were the first ones to reach the camp and discover the horror of what was left.
Sixty years sounds like a long time to me, but it really is not that long ago. I was watching a film on MLK Day this year about Dr. King and the Montgomery, AL transit strike. I couldn't believe that these sorts of things had actually happened in the lifetime of some of my family members. The same thought goes through my head when I consider Nazi Germany. It just blows me away that such evil and such hate was forced upon the world.
To be sure, Nazi Germany was a direct threat to the freedom and safety of the world. Not only did Hitler have grand designs on his power, but he feared no one in his conquest of the power. Millions of innocents lost their lives due to his evil, some in battle, some locked away for a difference of perspective, or a difference of faith. Sixty years ago. Fifty years ago since the Civil Rights struggle.
Are we really that different today? Have we embraced the lessons of the past to ensure a better future? To be sure, lives are not being lost in the quantities that they were in the past, but have we erected social "ghettos" for those that have ideological differences from us? Have we let our government stigmatize and outkast a whole religious culture from the mainstream?
Never forget, and never again are the mantras associated with Holocaust rememberance. So on this day of reflection, ask yourself, how do you make a difference in the lives of the downtrodden? Do you stand up for injustice when you see it? How do you help amplify those that do not have a voice?
Sixty years sounds like a long time to me, but it really is not that long ago. I was watching a film on MLK Day this year about Dr. King and the Montgomery, AL transit strike. I couldn't believe that these sorts of things had actually happened in the lifetime of some of my family members. The same thought goes through my head when I consider Nazi Germany. It just blows me away that such evil and such hate was forced upon the world.
To be sure, Nazi Germany was a direct threat to the freedom and safety of the world. Not only did Hitler have grand designs on his power, but he feared no one in his conquest of the power. Millions of innocents lost their lives due to his evil, some in battle, some locked away for a difference of perspective, or a difference of faith. Sixty years ago. Fifty years ago since the Civil Rights struggle.
Are we really that different today? Have we embraced the lessons of the past to ensure a better future? To be sure, lives are not being lost in the quantities that they were in the past, but have we erected social "ghettos" for those that have ideological differences from us? Have we let our government stigmatize and outkast a whole religious culture from the mainstream?
Never forget, and never again are the mantras associated with Holocaust rememberance. So on this day of reflection, ask yourself, how do you make a difference in the lives of the downtrodden? Do you stand up for injustice when you see it? How do you help amplify those that do not have a voice?
posted by GT at 7:21 AM
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