The nation of Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East, commemorates Holocaust Day on April 8 this year. It is a grim reminder that over 6 million Jews perished at the hands of Nazi Germany and its confederates. The heroes of the Jewish resistance are also recognized and honored.
Each passing generation wonders how such atrocities could have occurred and vow it must never happen again. Over time, this history fades to the dustbins of our collective psyche, but we must never forget.
After Adolf Hitler became dictator of Germany, he set about to find a scapegoat for Germany’s social and economic woes. He claimed the Germans were superior and the Jews were subhuman. It wasn’t hard to gain sympathy from most of the Germans, many of whom believed the Jews, among other things, were partly responsible for them losing World War I. Furthermore, the Jews had been persecuted in the Middle East and in Europe for centuries.
Hitler controlled the media, which consisted of newspapers and radio back then, allowing him to easily espouse his racist narrative. Imagine the power of electronic media back then. A World War II veteran once told me had CNN existed in 1945, he believed we would have lost the war.
To me, it sounds familiar that we now have a powerful conglomerate of the press, academia, social media, Big Tech and an ever-growing number of politicians who are identifying, isolating and vilifying a particular group of people.
It appears to me that, according to this conglomerate of geniuses, if you don’t see that white supremacy is the problem, then your are a white supremacist (or racist, or bigot, etc. ad nauseam). No need to examine crime statistics, according to them, today’s villains are the white folks. (Actually, some are. But every race and ethnic group has its disproportionate share of miscreants).
Skin pigment seems to be the common thread of most of the liberal talking points these days. Critical race theory training demands that white people apologize for being white. Am I supposed to apologize for being tall or big-footed? Since the Democrats create and cater to victims of all circumstances, I say we are all victims — of our genes.
Underneath a thin layer of skin pigment, we are all the same. To those of us who have attended autopsy protocols, this reality is remembered in three-dimensional detail.
In my opinion, the only time we have “equality” is when we are born and when we die. What happens in between is a matter of socio-economic conditions, family, education and one’s personal motivation to succeed.
We have the greatest country on this planet. Otherwise, why would Jews, Gentiles, Muslims and other folks, of all colors and creeds, from all parts of the world, risk bodily harm and their lives to come here? They know that hard work and education in America can make one’s lot in life better.
The collective push to classify and label people by their skin pigment will not end well, in my opinion. There will always be racists, bigots, homophobes, etc. especially if your opposition tries to label you as such for disagreeing with them.
You cannot measure or correct racist thinking or feeling, you can only address resultant behavior. When that behavior is criminal, it should be prosecuted.
Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Good men and good women should be standing up to the constant race baiting and dangerous political discourse.
The heartbreaking reminders of Holocaust Remembrance Day this year comes just four days after Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Torah states “love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18) and in the New Testament, Mark 12:31 commands us to “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
While we can love one another as ourselves, we Americans must stand together against the tyranny of the minority.
The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.
Dan Jennings is a retired Army captain and a retired BCPD lieutenant. He can be reached at bcpd267@cox.net.