At the end of World War II, the world, including much of Germany, was shocked as German prison camps were discovered. The atrocities that were revealed left a sickened and shocked world to vow: "Never again." General Eisenhower, who toured many of the camps personally, had the wisdom and foresight to make sure that a record was made so the world could not deny nor ever forget what took place under the control of evil. The world at large pays homage to those who died in appalling conditions, without reason, simply because they could be labeled as a hated group.
Sadly, even as the world gives lip service to the memory of the Holocaust, our memory is fading. Anti-semitism is on the rise again in Europe. Some teachers in the UK are afraid to teach the Holocaust or discuss the Crusades in the context of history for fear of offending the Muslim population. Meanwhile in Asia, another problem exists. The atrocities committed by the Japanese during WWII are less well known but potentially more appalling than those of the Germans. Perhaps because their atrocities were more broadly applied to all of their enemies, rather than to one specific group, people have failed to recognize their level of depravity. Japan has refused to acknowledge, in many cases, the heinous acts committed during the war. By their present actions, it seems that Japan has learned a painful lesson as a nation and doesn't intend to travel that road again. However, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. That history must be kept alive to remind us what humans are capable of. We are capable of such great things: dreams, inventions, creativity, service and compassion. Shockingly we are also capable of doing the worst, most disgusting violence against one another; worse than any other creature in the animal kingdom.
In a world governed by political correctness and moral ambivalence, we are forgetting the lessons of history. We ignore what we don't want to hear, downplay the politically unpopular and turn a blind eye to the holocaust that is taking place right under our noses. Today, Christians are being killed by the thousands. Perhaps even worse, when they aren't killed, they are being mistreated in ways that make the Nazis look almost civilized. Entire towns of Christians are being wiped out. Women and children are not spared. In fact, women and children are recipients of some of the worst barbarism. They are being raped, sexually mutilated, sold as sex slaves, killed or raped in front of their fathers and brothers, etc. The creativity of these barbarians seems to know no bounds. Our collective response as a world?...silence.
How can we profess to remember the Holocaust and ignore what is happening in Africa and the Middle East to Christians and others? Is it because it is at the hand of Muslim extremists? Is it because it is happening to Christians? If the roles were reversed and the Muslims were the victims, would the world be outraged then? In spite of the stupid comments made by our President, ISIS or ISIL, is an Islamic movement. It does not matter how much Obama is moved by the call to prayer, his refusal to call evil by its name hearkens back to another ugly chapter of history titled "Neville Chamberlain". Appeasement, peace at any cost, naivete and the total failure of leadership are only the most glaring parallels between the two. Our nation has historically stood for the rights of every minority; any group being oppressed and unjustly treated would have our support. The Constitutional rights we profess of freedom of speech and of religion were defended around the world, not just on our own shores. What has happened to us?
We have done essentially nothing to protect the Christians being slaughtered and brutalized. The Europeans have done even less. We watch as Russian aggression and hegemony once again rear their ugly heads and do nothing to arm or support the Ukrainians. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Are we stupid and foolish enough to believe that the kind of aggression and violence demonstrated by Putin and Islamists will stay "over there"? Are we shallow enough to believe that once the Islamists kill every Christian they can find on the other side of the world that they won't come after us? And, yes, that includes every American whether you go to church on Sunday and worship Jesus or not. You are considered infidels and they will kill you for that reason alone; they need no other.
The do-nothing, stick-your-head-in-the-sand foreign policy we are currently following has not only made us a mockery on the world stage, it has allowed and indirectly supported the growth of the violent, extremist Islamists. While we allow them to grow, we reserve our harshest criticism for Israel. Obama would never dare to treat the Islamists or Putin the way he treats Netanyahu, because he knows Israel won't give him a figurative punch in the mouth. Easy solutions to the problems we face do not exist, but the course we are pursuing now will lead us to far worse. Putin is doing what he is doing because he knows we are weak. The Islamists do what they do out of pure, unadulterated hate. We cannot cajole them, we cannot negotiate with them, we will not convert them, we cannot appease them. Any time they would like to join the rest of the 21st Century, we will welcome them with open arms. The dim bulb spokesperson for the State Department represented their position by saying, "we cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war." The ugly truth is that is all they understand. It is a strange thing about human nature, that the only way to back down a bully is with a bigger dose of their own medicine. Islamists are bullies in the worst way. Here is something they can understand: When they stop killing, we will stop killing them. And then, I hope, we would help them just as we helped Germany and Japan at the end of World War II. But until they understand that we will not be bullied and we will protect other minority populations throughout the world, it will only get worse. What the solution is to this whole complicated, disgusting mess, I don't know. I do know that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. There are many good people in the world--will we awake before it's too late?
Sadly, even as the world gives lip service to the memory of the Holocaust, our memory is fading. Anti-semitism is on the rise again in Europe. Some teachers in the UK are afraid to teach the Holocaust or discuss the Crusades in the context of history for fear of offending the Muslim population. Meanwhile in Asia, another problem exists. The atrocities committed by the Japanese during WWII are less well known but potentially more appalling than those of the Germans. Perhaps because their atrocities were more broadly applied to all of their enemies, rather than to one specific group, people have failed to recognize their level of depravity. Japan has refused to acknowledge, in many cases, the heinous acts committed during the war. By their present actions, it seems that Japan has learned a painful lesson as a nation and doesn't intend to travel that road again. However, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. That history must be kept alive to remind us what humans are capable of. We are capable of such great things: dreams, inventions, creativity, service and compassion. Shockingly we are also capable of doing the worst, most disgusting violence against one another; worse than any other creature in the animal kingdom.
In a world governed by political correctness and moral ambivalence, we are forgetting the lessons of history. We ignore what we don't want to hear, downplay the politically unpopular and turn a blind eye to the holocaust that is taking place right under our noses. Today, Christians are being killed by the thousands. Perhaps even worse, when they aren't killed, they are being mistreated in ways that make the Nazis look almost civilized. Entire towns of Christians are being wiped out. Women and children are not spared. In fact, women and children are recipients of some of the worst barbarism. They are being raped, sexually mutilated, sold as sex slaves, killed or raped in front of their fathers and brothers, etc. The creativity of these barbarians seems to know no bounds. Our collective response as a world?...silence.
How can we profess to remember the Holocaust and ignore what is happening in Africa and the Middle East to Christians and others? Is it because it is at the hand of Muslim extremists? Is it because it is happening to Christians? If the roles were reversed and the Muslims were the victims, would the world be outraged then? In spite of the stupid comments made by our President, ISIS or ISIL, is an Islamic movement. It does not matter how much Obama is moved by the call to prayer, his refusal to call evil by its name hearkens back to another ugly chapter of history titled "Neville Chamberlain". Appeasement, peace at any cost, naivete and the total failure of leadership are only the most glaring parallels between the two. Our nation has historically stood for the rights of every minority; any group being oppressed and unjustly treated would have our support. The Constitutional rights we profess of freedom of speech and of religion were defended around the world, not just on our own shores. What has happened to us?
We have done essentially nothing to protect the Christians being slaughtered and brutalized. The Europeans have done even less. We watch as Russian aggression and hegemony once again rear their ugly heads and do nothing to arm or support the Ukrainians. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Are we stupid and foolish enough to believe that the kind of aggression and violence demonstrated by Putin and Islamists will stay "over there"? Are we shallow enough to believe that once the Islamists kill every Christian they can find on the other side of the world that they won't come after us? And, yes, that includes every American whether you go to church on Sunday and worship Jesus or not. You are considered infidels and they will kill you for that reason alone; they need no other.
The do-nothing, stick-your-head-in-the-sand foreign policy we are currently following has not only made us a mockery on the world stage, it has allowed and indirectly supported the growth of the violent, extremist Islamists. While we allow them to grow, we reserve our harshest criticism for Israel. Obama would never dare to treat the Islamists or Putin the way he treats Netanyahu, because he knows Israel won't give him a figurative punch in the mouth. Easy solutions to the problems we face do not exist, but the course we are pursuing now will lead us to far worse. Putin is doing what he is doing because he knows we are weak. The Islamists do what they do out of pure, unadulterated hate. We cannot cajole them, we cannot negotiate with them, we will not convert them, we cannot appease them. Any time they would like to join the rest of the 21st Century, we will welcome them with open arms. The dim bulb spokesperson for the State Department represented their position by saying, "we cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war." The ugly truth is that is all they understand. It is a strange thing about human nature, that the only way to back down a bully is with a bigger dose of their own medicine. Islamists are bullies in the worst way. Here is something they can understand: When they stop killing, we will stop killing them. And then, I hope, we would help them just as we helped Germany and Japan at the end of World War II. But until they understand that we will not be bullied and we will protect other minority populations throughout the world, it will only get worse. What the solution is to this whole complicated, disgusting mess, I don't know. I do know that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. There are many good people in the world--will we awake before it's too late?
Comments
Post a Comment