{"id":482,"date":"2021-07-23T05:32:19","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T10:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevebriscoe.wordpress.com\/?p=482"},"modified":"2026-10-31T22:12:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T22:12:34","slug":"its-not-them-its-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justal.net\/loqui\/its-not-them-its-us\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Not Them – It’s Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Throughout the many decades of my active military career and post active military career working for the Department of Defense I have had the privilege of working with some great and sometimes not so great people from all corners of the world; literally.\u00a0 I\u2019ve worked with people I would trust with my life and I\u2019ve worked with people I would not dare take my eyes off of them for fear they would knife me in the back; literally.\u00a0 I have spent time in places I never before knew existed and endured hardships that, after the fact, were events to ponder as to how I survived with my mind (and body) intact.\u00a0 I learned from them all, people and events alike; the good and the bad, and even the ugly.\u00a0 I learned how to respond, how to act; more importantly, I learned how not to act. \u00a0I can\u2019t say I always react properly based on my life\u2019s tutelage, but I try. \u00a0I have my bad days just like everyone else.\u00a0 I\u2019ll not say I have an ability to understand the cause and effect of past events; what precipitated the event, how they played out, and the resulting aftermath.\u00a0 There are however, many past events within history (both global and personal) that I, from time to time, try to figure out.\u00a0 Why did it happen and how did it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m currently living in the heart of Germany, a wonderful experience; I\u2019m about an 30 minutes from the border of the Czech Republic.\u00a0 The food, the people, and the scenery of Bavaria portray just a bit of the overall experience.\u00a0 I must admit I have yet to meet a rude German, however, sadly if pressed into a truthful statement, I must admit I\u2019ve met rude Americans here.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying there are no rude Germans, I\u2019m just saying I\u2019ve not met them yet.\u00a0 For the most part my existence here is pleasant but it brings to mind one of those \u201cevents\u201d that eludes my understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How could these wonderful people, a mere generation ago, march hundreds of thousands to extermination camps?\u00a0 This is not a question meant to isolate the German population as evil incarnate.\u00a0 Every nation has its dark past that shames the pages of its history.\u00a0\u00a0 The United States\u2019 initial agricultural foundation was built on slavery.\u00a0 The Chinese, European, and African immigrants who came here were dogged, berated, and beaten, the Native Americans were all but exterminated.\u00a0 In fact, as Germany was using their camps as mass murder facilities we, the United States, had its own camps that \u201cprotected\u201d the Japanese Americans, many of whom were born here and lost everything when we decided to \u201cprotect\u201d them.\u00a0 So let\u2019s not stand on the moral high ground and judge the representation of the Germans portrayed in the \u201830s and \u201840s.\u00a0 This chronicle has nothing to do with a single nation or isolated group of people.\u00a0 If you look at the whole picture, and assess the portrait correctly and honestly, you will see that throughout history there was never a moment when we were not, in some small and large part, all to blame.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, back to the original question.  How could a civilized, hardworking, generous, educated, and supposedly spiritual nation allow such things?  How can a group of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters stand on the sidelines and watch the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters of others be forced through a gate knowing full well what was happening within those walls.  How can these same mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters be the ones herding the crowd through the gate?  There were those who stood their ground and tried to stop it and it cost them their lives; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Johann Maier, Rupert Mayer to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what\u2019s the answer?\u00a0 This is a question that each of you must answer for yourself.\u00a0 If you ignore the question it will all happen again, as it has many times in the past.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s happening still in several parts of the world, although many refuse to see or acknowledge this truth.\u00a0 If we acknowledge the current atrocities, we will have to admit our complacent involvement and willful ignorance.\u00a0 So, as you can see, this narrative has nothing to do with others\u2014it has everything to do with the individual, you and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We do not, even collectively, have the ability to stop all evil in the world; even if we could, complacency and apathy would stand in the way.\u00a0 But we can control the evil within our own lives.\u00a0 If we do that, it might give strength to the person next to us to control theirs.\u00a0 We might not be able to change the world, but we can change our little part of it.\u00a0 It\u2019s really not that hard.\u00a0 Do not let complacency, apathy, or an artificially manufactured self-destructive hatred forced upon you by others, turn you into something you were never meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a final question.  Would you be willing to give your life to stand against such evil?  Ponder that question diligently as there may be a time in the not-so-distant future when you will need to make a decision.  Will you stand up to hatred and evil and possibly lose your life or will you turn your back to it, ignore it, and die anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the many decades of my active military career and post active military career working for the Department of Defense I have had the privilege of working with some great and sometimes not so great people from all corners of the world; literally.\u00a0 I\u2019ve worked with people I would trust with my life and I\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weve-lost-our-way"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t