Since WWII is the subject, I have uploaded some photos off original film my father took in 1945. The second photo is of my parents. They had been married about 4 years when it was taken.
He had his movie camera as they followed the front line and the retreating Germans. This next photo is a barn full of dead bodies.
The Germans locked them in; doused them with gas, and set them on fire. Three days later, when my dad arrived, he could still see smoke trailing off the corpses. It made an impact on the whole world at that time, and these films still make a powerful statement today.
Racism knows no limits. My question is, "Where does racism begin?" I think we can trace it back through culture, clans, families, and finally to the individual. What is in my heart? If I eliminate racism from myself, then it is more difficult to take root in my children and those I influence. If I speak out against it, then I have an influence in society as well. I have a responsibility to defend those who cannot defend themselves. I have a responsiblity to live a life free from hate. I have a responsibility to live by example. Can you think of other ways this should impact our lives?
4 comments:
Most of us don't want to be racist.
It seems most racism is rooted in igorance and/or revenge hate.
It hard to not hate cultures that have taken the lead in terrorism, sadism, and cruelty.
Japan is hated by many other cultures for their unnecessary and willful atrocities in WWII.
What was behind THEIR racism I am not sure, maybe misplaced pride and a religion that condones superiority? Maybe they are just us given the same cirmcumstances?
They say that it takes two generations to change feelings of hate toward a people group.
We had a discussion in one of my classes the other day about the terrible things that humans have done to each other, and continue to do. My professor made the comment that the scariest thing about WWII was what normal lives many of the German soldiers led. It shows that we are all capable of doing those things, and that is scary.
Yes, we have an amazing ability to compartmentalize our behavior. The positive side is that we can leave our work at 5:00 P.M. and put it all behind us. The negative is that we can rationalize our treatment of others and go home to a hot meal, as did those running the death camps. Thee is a lesson for us somewhere in all of this.
Prejudice is an extension of very normal human thinking, a form of inductive reasoning that we all use every day. The problem comes when it causes us to tread on other people's dignity.
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