A Light in the Darkness Last Monday was the 75th

Transcript:A Light in the Darkness Last Monday was the 75th:
A Light in the Darkness Last Monday was the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of the infamous camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where over 1.1 million men, women, and children lost their lives due to the deliberate action of the Nazi regime. This number consisted of a large number and variety of people of different nationalities, ethnicities, and identities, but by far the largest proportion were Jews, deliberately singled out by the Nazi regime for annihilation. As such, the brutal atrocities that took place at Auschwitz and other sites throughout Europe occupy a special and tragic place in the story of the Jewish people – and indeed to all victims, survivors, and members of the nations, groups, and categories that were incarcerated and killed – a number than runs to over 6 million. This tragic chapter in our human history, often called the Holocaust or known by the Jewish term ‘Shoah’ has rightly never been forgotten. Although 75 years have passed and few survivors now remain, there are lessons that it teaches us that we would do well to continue to learn from. The fact that often we don’t listen to those lessons, that we’ve allowed other genocides to occur since then, and that Anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice not only persist but seem to be increasing, doesn’t take away from the unique significance of the Holocaust nor the relevance of what it teaches us. So what are those lessons? The world is not divided between good and bad people. Good people can, out of fear and ignorance, act in ways that allow evil to flourish. The world is also not divided into them and us – but sometimes we can think as if it is. When we ‘otherize’ groups or individuals we lose something very special – our sense of human dignity. Once we lose that sense, then anything is possible – and I don’t mean that in a good way. The world is not divided into leaders and those who are just led. The future of our world and its people lies in all of our hands. It is up to every one of us to make a difference. Evil flourishes when good people do nothing. When we see human dignity being abused, when we hear false and unjust comments about others, and when we experience people doing stupid and hateful things out of ignorance and fear, it is