Those were two challenges proposed by the Jewish people to the world in the wake of unspeakable horror. A twisted man had used scapegoating of 'others' - Jewish people, gays, intellectuals, the disabled - to whip a fearful people into accepting the losses of their freedoms and turning them into a mob bent on obliterating the 'other'.
Never Forget. Never Again.
Those words hold a place, and a power in both the Jewish and German psyches.
As many know, despite the last few generations of my own ancestors living in America, I consider myself German-American. The horrors unleashed by those among whom my own blood flows, is a source of shame, and those words a geas and a commandment to me and most Germans.
But what do they mean?
To me, they are an order to be ever vigilant for the practices that were employed in that rush to obscenity, and to fight against every step taken down that road. To fight against 'othering', to fight against using fear of '_' as a means to control the actions of people and make them willing to trade human dignity and rights for 'safety' from the 'other'. To never forget where such practices lead, to never be fooled into thinking 'It can't happen here', 'we're smarter than that','Just because we gave the government the go ahead on powers to control us, doesn't mean we're headed down THAT path.
I've seen comments, and even diaries, though, that show that meaning is not universally held. To others onsite, 'Never Forget' is being held to mean 'never forgot how unspeakable that was, and never allow anyone to ever compare anything else that's happening to it!'
To me, that is the ultimate perversion of the phrase. It's saying what happened was unique, and spontaneous, and that nothing our government or other governments do can possibly lead to such an occurrence again. It is memory without understanding. Remembering the horror, but forgetting why you need to remember it.
Never Again.
You never forget so that it will never happen again. And that means watching for the signs that your government has started taking you down that path, and fighting to undo those steps. To stop letting a central authority base policy and create laws based on fear and othering. For the love of all that's holy, it does not mean letting the memory of those millions slain be used as a tool to defend such practices.
I was criticized for recommending OPOL's diary, told I was 'part of the problem' because I saw that line about 'the showers' and did not then remove my rec. And I gave it much thought. And realized OPOL was doing what OPOL does - warning all of us, in as strong language as he possibly can, that we've begun a journey towards a place we don't want to go. No, we've haven't gotten there yet, and there are still many steps yet to take.
That just means now is the time to turn back. Not to excuse every single step in the name of 'safety' and trust in a small group of men, and fear of the 'other'. Not to change 'the horror' from what actually happened into daring to talk about the fact that we're headed there again, and need to turn sharply away from that path. To recognize that 'the problem' is what is happening or what happened and not that people have found out about it, or are talking about it.
I think the Godwin rule has done more harm than good. It serves only to stifle the voices of those warning us away from a very dark path. Such comparisons should not be used 'lightly', but they are appropriate in discussing the steps a society is taking towards the darkness.
8:59 AM PT: I have to take off for rl issues. I thank everyone who stopped by, whether they agreed or disagreed with me, or even think I'm completely insane. Most everyone tried to at least remain fairly civil, on what is an incredibly emotionally charged set of issues. Even if we can't ever come to agreement, I think having everyone actually air their feelings, beliefs, and lines of reasoning is a positive thing.