Resistance
The following thoughts were written this summer while I was in the middle of a pro-life internship with Created Equal. Check them out at createdequal.org
“It is impossible to engage in intellectual
discourse with National Socialism because it is not an intellectually
defensible program.”-excerpt from The Second Leaflet of the White Rose
The White Rose by
Inge Scholl, tells the story of a few courageous young men and women that lived
during the holocaust, who dedicated their time and energy to something that
they believed in. Something so important
to them, that they were willing to risk their comfort, their freedom, and their
very lives for the cause.
What stands out to
me the most about the story of these people is not their extreme selfless
devotion, not even their reckless abandon for their cause, but their enthusiasm
combined with lack of political correctness is so extremely refreshing! These young folks stood up against the Nazi
regime, working behind the Nazi leadership’s backs - writing and spreading leaflets
to inspire other good men to take a stand with them and do something against
this slaughtering of the Jews. They had
to do something - one way or
another.
Resistance. The word was striking a cord in the hearts of
the people, and it was springing to life in all the countries of Europe because
of the anguish, suffering and oppression that was due to Hitler’s
conquests. “We will have to let the truth ring out as clearly and as audibly as
possible in the German night,” said a certain professor Huber (who
obviously knew the importance of informing the people). “…We
must try to kindle the spark of resistance in the hearts of millions of honest
Germans, so that it burns bright and bold…”
They believed this
work was their duty. They did it knowing
they might not succeed, risking it anyway.
Many of them never saw the fruit of their work, their lives being cut
short by the government – most of them still in their early 20s.
I’ve mentioned
their lack of political correctness, but I think it was a little more than
that. They chose their words with taste
and tact, yet without any pretense, without any beating around the proverbial
bush; getting right to the point. The
very first line of the first leaflet that they printed says: “Nothing
is so unworthy of a civilized nation as allowing itself to be “governed” without
opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct. It is certain that today every honest German
is ashamed of his government.”
We, as an American
people, have so much to learn from people like that!
