Christians in the Middle East, take heed
Just having read Erik Lawson's exceptional book "In the Garden of the Beasts", I make this posts title's suggestion. This book is a work of historical fiction, one in which the history is immaculately detailed and only fiction because the author obviously could not know exactly what people said, where they went, and what they felt.
It is the story of the unassuming and unlikely U.S. ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1938. With his family they witnessed the rise of Hitler and his actions firsthand. The ambassador, William Dodd, was from a Virginia farm family and then rose to become a history professor at the University of Chicago. He was not part of the usual old school Ivy League party circuit of most of the ambassadors of that time, but he spoke German and other candidates turned the job down.
He did apparently have the ear and support of Roosevelt, at least one ear, as he detailed what was happening in Germany to the President directly as the blue blood State Department tended to discount whatever he said.
It is a fascinating book. There are some tedious aspects detailing the interesting and uninhibited life of Dodd's socially active daughter but they are part of the real story no doubt so Lawson gives it to us.
At the time, by 1934, it was perfectly clear to Dodd what was happening. Most major leaders of the Jewish intellectual community realized it and departed in the next few years, if not immediately. Whether not having the means, hoping for a return to a less enjoyable normalcy, or expecting that a coup to eradicate these brutal and crass nutcases would certainly occur in their beloved culture, the majority of the Jewish community remained and hoped for the best. How could they have had the foresight to see the unthinkable horror that was ahead.
Applied to today, my title to this post is the message. In most Muslim countries the situation for anyone who is viewed as Christian or of course Jewish is likely to be dire in the next few years. This is not a critique of all Muslims, not in any way. The great majority, I believe, just want to lead peaceful community based lives and have jobs. They have values that are universal. I believe that in pre-Hitler Germany that statement could have characterized a healing country as well.
The point is that it does not take a majority to create a movement that perverts a culture that was previously open. Cliche I know but "if history is any guide", if you have the ability, pack your bags.
That's the message that I get from what was just read. Maybe that is the wrong thought? Is it?
It is the story of the unassuming and unlikely U.S. ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1938. With his family they witnessed the rise of Hitler and his actions firsthand. The ambassador, William Dodd, was from a Virginia farm family and then rose to become a history professor at the University of Chicago. He was not part of the usual old school Ivy League party circuit of most of the ambassadors of that time, but he spoke German and other candidates turned the job down.
He did apparently have the ear and support of Roosevelt, at least one ear, as he detailed what was happening in Germany to the President directly as the blue blood State Department tended to discount whatever he said.
It is a fascinating book. There are some tedious aspects detailing the interesting and uninhibited life of Dodd's socially active daughter but they are part of the real story no doubt so Lawson gives it to us.
At the time, by 1934, it was perfectly clear to Dodd what was happening. Most major leaders of the Jewish intellectual community realized it and departed in the next few years, if not immediately. Whether not having the means, hoping for a return to a less enjoyable normalcy, or expecting that a coup to eradicate these brutal and crass nutcases would certainly occur in their beloved culture, the majority of the Jewish community remained and hoped for the best. How could they have had the foresight to see the unthinkable horror that was ahead.
Applied to today, my title to this post is the message. In most Muslim countries the situation for anyone who is viewed as Christian or of course Jewish is likely to be dire in the next few years. This is not a critique of all Muslims, not in any way. The great majority, I believe, just want to lead peaceful community based lives and have jobs. They have values that are universal. I believe that in pre-Hitler Germany that statement could have characterized a healing country as well.
The point is that it does not take a majority to create a movement that perverts a culture that was previously open. Cliche I know but "if history is any guide", if you have the ability, pack your bags.
That's the message that I get from what was just read. Maybe that is the wrong thought? Is it?
posted by John Borden at 2:32 AM
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