Over the weekend, I watched a program on the History Channel about the rise and fall of Hitler and The Third Reich. It really got me thinking about injustice and courage. At the end of the programming, they detailed the accounts of Germans returning to their country in ruins. They became impoverished and for the most part, homeless. Germany, especially Berlin, was reduced to ashes and rubble. For three years, they lived on near-starvation conditions. In fact, Germany's restoration wasn't even completed until the 1980's. But what struck me was my reaction to it. Part of me did feel bad for the Germans, but a bigger part of me did not.
I found myself wondering how a nation could let a man as twisted as Adolf Hitler come to power. Yes, I know these were different times, and I also understand that beliefs were also very different. I also realize that Hitler lied and fooled an entire country. What I don't understand is why, when he began his incessant ramblings about "the Jewish problem" and creating the "Master Race", did bells not go off in these people's minds? I know it did for some, for a lot actually, according to many written accounts. There was even a plot to assassinate Hitler, though it failed. But it came far too late, even if it had been successful. I also know that Hitler was greatly feared because he ruled by fear. I get it; he was a tyrant, a dictator, a very sick individual. And when you have the proverbial gun (or a real one) pointed at your head, it's not very difficult to buckle under the pressure. I get that too.
What has been gnawing at me is the lack of courage to stand up for the, what became pretty obvious to me, gross injustice that inevitably played out. Had his closest officers (although many were as sick and idealistic as Hitler) stood up and spoke out, along with those who could see what was happening, would he have even been allowed to come to power? I wonder why when those closest to Hitler knew what his plans were, and what was going on, they lacked the courage to stand against it. But I think I know why. It comes back to fear. How true is it that the vast majority would let others perish to save their own asses? I probably will get a lot of shit for that statement, but just think about it for a moment. Would you submit to such evils out of fear, knowing that someone else would die in your place? And how the Jews suffered; we all know the stories of experimentation, starvation, torture, and unmerciless death. Only to have their lifeless bodies be herded into trenches like garbage. I don't think anyone has suffered more in history than they did. I can't even imagine what it must have been like. I don't want to. So how can I be sympathetic toward a people who turned a blind eye out of fear and reprisal? Are humans as a whole not just as responsible for injustice and cruelty as the person or persons exacting it if we stand by and do nothing?
So it got me to thinking about my own courage and my own fears. I know at the very core of my being, I would die for those I loved. I would jump in front of a bullet aimed toward my son. I would fight til the death to protect my family, anyone in my family...of that, I'm sure. But how many of us, MYSELF INCLUDED, would do it for a stranger? If you were walking down the street and a thug was mugging and stabbing someone on the sidewalk, would you just stand there terrified and immobile? Or would you try to help the victim, regardless of the obvious danger? I honestly couldn't tell you if I could or would, and I really hope I am never in that situation. But I wonder how many of us would act, for that or any other act of cruelty or injustice. How many times have you seen a video on the Internet of beatings, stabbings, or shootings and people just walk on by? And the person behind the lens - shouldn't they at least be dialing 9-1-1, if nothing else?? And I guess what bothers me most of all, is that people are constantly yammering about what is wrong with this world - the inequalities, the injustices, and the whatever-elses, but how many of those loud booming voices actually have the courage of their convictions? I'm not saying that there is no one. There are those that are completely selfless, and I applaud them.
The bottom line is that we are all family, we are all connected. As a species, as humans, as a people. Fear breeds the world's cruelties and injustices. I also believe that fear in our own personal lives breeds selfishness. I'm guilty of it as much as the next person. There are fears that I have that have caused chaos in my own life that, had I just spoken out about them, or against them, I would not have ended up in the predicaments that I did. And I would not have hurt others in the process just to "save my own ass". I feel like, for me, living and roaming about the world with the attitude that others are just as significant as I am can bring about a profound change. Not just in myself, but those around me, and those that I come in contact with every day. That fighting for my own life and my own rights means fighting for yours too. No matter that I do not know who you are; you are me, and I am you.
AJW 6/22/11
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