My Sunday Thought for 042218: "What's Auschwitz?" - My Response

“A shocking new survey (released, ironically, on Holocaust Remembrance Day) reveals that many Americans - particularly millennials - lack a most basic understanding of the Holocaust and its horrors. Among the survey’s most alarming findings was that 41 percent of Americans don’t know what Auschwitz is. Among millennials (people aged 18-34), that number was even worse: 66 percent. Nearly one in three Americans - and 41 percent of millennials - think that less than two million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. The actual number is roughly six million (and some experts estimate even more). Perhaps the survey’s only silver lining is the fact that only four percent of respondents fell into the category of “Holocaust deniers,” and an overwhelming majority think the Holocaust should continue to be taught in school.”

-- https://www.themonastery.org, "What's Auschwitz?"

(Note: My apologies to themonastery.org for the necessity of forming one paragraph out of three, for the convenience of space, in the opening quote.  I would also like to apologize to all for using the photo of the mass grave as an intro, but I can't.  If the only way to create discussion is by shocking one's sensibility, then so be it.  If this post is removed due to this photo, then I will repost it with flowers to appease the ignorance which infects the League of the Perpetually Offended who will only find offense at the photo but not toward the act which perpetuated it.)

For many, any mention of the Holocaust is a reason to turn the channel, mental or otherwise.  Why?  Well, many who have seen the atrocities prefer not to dwell on the horrors of our past.  A few people very close to me are part of this group, not because they don't care, but because it hurts their heart to see the photos of the women and children burned in the furnaces or buried in mass graves simply because of their faith or some Nazi "master race" perception of imperfection.  I think that, deep down inside, they know there is a possibility of it happening again.  When it comes to people who'd rather not look, I feel like the "Ghost of Christmas Future" in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, pointing an accusatory at the gravestone of Ebenezer Scrooge and silently demanding that he look at his own future, were things not to change for the better.  In my humble opinion, the fact this Sunday is "Earth Day" makes discussion of the Holocaust apropos.

Millennials knowing little, if anything, of the Holocaust does not surprise me any more than university students pointing to Texas when asked to indicate the location of Russia on a world map.  It is an indicator of the state our American education system suffers from because of the general indifference and, perhaps, political influence the teachers bring to bear in their classrooms.  God forbid you display a personal opinion, as this is a certain way to fail your "education" cum indoctrination.  Truth takes second seat to rewritten histories pushed by socialist institutions of higher learning in order to create a kinder, gentler, view of our world. 

My response to the quote I used as the opener to this post... is sadness, sadness in my belief that what is written is true.  I invite all of you to please use the link, provided above, and read the entire article for yourselves.  Should the Holocaust continue to be taught in school, as the article suggests?  The question presupposes the Holocaust is taught at all, and Texas being confused with Russia brings into question the intelligence and credibility of teachers, as well as their ability to, well... teach.  

The world is not a kinder gentler place for all the efforts of our educational systems to create a better view of history.  We don't have to worry about horrors like the Holocaust happening again because, well, it never stopped.  The world is, through choice, denial, or lack of honest information, generally ignorant and indifferent to the "kinder and gentler" atrocities and genocide still occurring all around us.

The Holocaust is an event in our fairly recent past which stands as a symbol of how low the bar for humanity can be set.  As long as we continue to foster the view that "participation" in good enough in life and education, nothing will be done to curtail these kinds of events in the future.  We must take the initiative to do better, to be better, than the history behind us.  In order to do this we must, first and foremost, teach the facts of that history and not just the story others want us to hear.  We do ourselves no favor by taking down statues and flags or by changing the facts of horrific events as some way of believing they never happened.  We are so much better than this, and it's about time we acted like it.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with a world renowned Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.