IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
I sit here safe at 7 a.m. pecking away at the keyboard in front of me. My thoughts, for the moment, are focused on the words I make appear on the screen. A cup of coffee sits to my right . My freedom in America allows me to be a Catholic and practice my faith without interference (so far). So at 7:45 I will leave and go to Mass.This is what being an American and living in the greatest country in the world is like for me and millions like me. Being blessed beyond belief, we are FREE to do what we choose except break the law.
It is about 2 p.m. in Syria. There are Catholics/Christians there. As I sit at this keyboard reports are coming from Christian aid agencies that ISIS satanic fueled savages have overrun the city of Hassakah, killing 15 young Assyrians who tried to defend their families. In Tel Hormizd, 14 of the defenders were killed including two women, one of whom was beheaded. So far over 350 men, women and children have been kidnapped and brought to the Sunni village of Bab Alfaraj. The word going out from ISIS is that today, Friday, February 27, 2015, "all people should come to the mountain of Abdul Aziz to attend "a mass killing of infidels".
Those "infidels" are our brothers and sisters in faith. They will be killed in horrible ways because they LOVE Jesus Christ. I pause and sip my coffee again. I have to take a breath. I LOVE the same Jesus. These people will be slaughtered today and I am no different in my core beliefs. If I were there I would not be here tomorrow. Yes, we Americans are so blessed yet---so many Americans don't seem to get it. They do not seem to realize that this could be us, anyone of us. Even being an American atheist qualifies you for ISIS extermination. In that regard they are the same as we Catholics and Jews.
We are all "infidels" to these maniacs. But who is supposed to lead the charge against the 21st century genocide taking place? Who is supposed to stand up for the weaker and more vulnerable of those who have knives to their throats waiting for their heads to be cut off, ropes tied around their necks waiting to have their necks snapped, and who wear gasoline soaked clothing ready to be burned alive? I say, without hesitation, the United States of America is the nation and people who must take charge. Why us? I'll tell you why us and it has to do with having God as our primary support.
We are still a Judeo-Christian nation and as such we have a responsibility. America is called the "melting pot" because we are unlike any other nation on the planet. We are Americans because we are all different. We are black, white, yellow, brown and red. We are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Muslim. German, Irish, French, Tanzanian, Argentinian, Pakistani, Chinese, Indonesian, Mexican and on and on. We are everyone. We are supposed to be an American family. We are, in fact, the most diverse family ever. Since a family should take care of its own all of those being slaughtered in Syria, Iraq, North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, France, Denmark and so on are our extended family.
We have all the resources, all the power and all the weapons. This is part of the privilege of being Americans. However, along with that privilege and honor comes responsibility to those of our extended family members that are weaker and less blessed than we are. If I have a family and a neighbor moves in and starts to attack my children I MUST defend them. It is the right thing to do. If I am incapable of fighting back myself and my family is at risk, I call upon my older and stronger brother(s) to help me. Since the family is the basic unit of a society it follows that we, as Americans, must defend our downtrodden brothers and sisters who have become the prime targets in the 21st century genocide, a genocide which actually began right here in America on September 11, 2001
At this very moment in Syria and Nigeria and in Iraq, Christians are being viciously murdered because they love Jesus Christ who preached the doctrine of Love Your Neighbor. It is time for the United States of America to unite the peace and freedom loving nations of the world and lead them in defense of the freedom of all those who are extended family. It is the RIGHT THING TO DO.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
February 27, 2015
February 20, 2015
A Question for the Lenten Season: Is Forgiveness for Anyone Who Asks? Apparently Not.
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
Lent is here. I sit in front of this keyboard with the current memory of ashes smeared across my forehead. The season of Repentance and Forgiveness followed by Redemption is once again upon us. The ashes remind us of our mortality. We all know in our hearts that we will surely die one day. Just like the adulterous woman in the Gospel reading (John 8: 2-11) we want to be FORGIVEN for all the bad things we have done in our lifetimes. When we do make that final journey we desperately want our final destination to be heaven.
That is why God became man, isn't it? So all of us would have the chance to reach that final destination. That is why he came and lived among us and taught us how to live. That is why He allowed Himself to be beaten and tortured and finally killed by being nailed to a cross. This is Lent--and, once again, we prepare. But what about that key to redemption called the "Golden Rule"? Does it not apply to everyone? It seems to me it is supposed to. Do I have this all wrong? Has the sex scandal that rocked our beloved Church turned it into a Bi-forgiveness institution? Do we forgive and not-forgive depending upon the sin?
I live in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL. I have been an EMHC (Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion) for over 20 years. Bringing Holy Communion to the sick and home bound is a great joy. Five years ago I (and all those who serve in this ministry) were required to attend "Safe Environment Training" and undergo a Level II background check. This included having your fingerprints run through the FBI database. Now all of us who went through that are "required" to do it again. Why? Who knows. I assumed fingerprints lasted longer than five years. Just run them again, right? I wish it were that simple.
So, I am going through my certification and paperwork from five years ago and I come across the "47 List" (I call it the "47 List", just me). This is a list of different offenses as described under Florida Statutes that the Diocese of St. Petersburg uses to determine eligibility for employment or volunteer positions. If a person who is applying for a position that would place them near minors or vulnerable adults happens to fit the profile of one of the 47 sections, they enter the ranks of the "Unforgiven". They are the people that become "Persona non grata", permanently, aka Zero Tolerance
Many of these laws have to do with sexual abuse and many do not. Many have to do with charges that can be ambiguous. Here is an example: Section 843.01; relating to resisting arrest with violence. If a police officer tries to arrest you and you take a swing at him you can be charged with violating this statute. Makes sense, right? When Zero Tolerance is plugged into the equation nothing else matters. It is over. ZERO means ZERO--NOTHING. This is my dilemma. I hate Zero Tolerance.
Every person is different and every action is different. If someone walks up to me and shoots me in the head I can be killed. If I walk across the street against the light and get hit by a car I can be killed. In both cases my being dead is the same. But the reasons were different. The shooter who killed me can get the death penalty or life in prison. The driver of the car was not responsible for my behavior and goes on about his/her life. Zero Tolerance would put the driver in the same category as the shooter.
Case in point: A young man I know for many years by the name of Eddie (not his real name) has a learning disability. When he was 19, Eddie and a few friends had to much to drink. Eddie passed out and his friends propped him in a sitting position against the back wall of a local restaurant. They took magic markers and, being goofy, drew all over his face and arms etc. Then they left him there and headed home (Nice friends). Patrons leaving the restaurant saw him and reported him to the manager who promptly called the police.
The police arrived and saw this large, (he is a big guy) young man sleeping against the back of the building. Shining their flashlights on him they saw the magic marker scribbled all over him. They shook him to wake him and he did not respond. Then they shook him harder and yelled for him to wake up. The touch of the firm hand on his shoulder startled Eddie. He woke up and swung at the officer hitting him in the shoulder. He was promptly "subdued", handcuffed and arrested for violation of section 843.01: resisting arrest with violence. Off to the county jail he went.
The police were only doing their job. If I were they I would have been super cautious too. Eddie had been a foolish 19 year old. The fact is, he was just frightened and instinctively lashed out to protect himself. Having only a vague recollection of what had happened he pleaded "guilty" to the charges. He was given probation and some community service. To this day it is the only time in his life Eddie has been in any trouble.
We move ahead almost 15 years. A local catholic high school has an opening for a cafeteria worker. Eddie, who had a hard time finding work because of his disability, gets the job and is thrilled. He actually starts work before his background check is complete. A few days in and his supervisor is called to the school office and told that Eddie has to leave immediately. He failed the background check and cannot be anywhere on school grounds. Eddie is stunned and leaves the school crying. That was four years ago and he still has not found a new job. He is on anti-depressants and lives with his parents. In Eddie's case Zero Tolerance became his abuser.
Five years ago when I was attending the Safe Environment class the facilitator, in her opening remarks, told everyone a story about a man who had been a volunteer bus driver for the school for several years. She went on to say how "fortunate and blessed" the school was to have been able to find out through the Safe Environment background check, that the man had been guilty of having a DUI 20 years earlier. He was immediately dismissed from his "volunteer job" and she was quite pleased even though the guy had been clean and sober ever since his DUI.
I was appalled and let them know it. Everyone thought I was trying to hide some personal demon in my own life. The facilitator even came over to me and, bending down close to me, said, "We can talk later if you have some personal issues". No one seemed to understand that I just thought it was UN-Christian to not forgive this man. I told her that she and folks like her were my issue. She did not understand nor get my point.
Look, I deplore sexual deviants and anyone who sexually harms kids and /or adults is a reprobate. We have to protect our children and vulnerable seniors and our moms and wives and everyone from people who might harm them physically, emotionally and sexually. But is Zero Tolerance the way to go? After all, it eliminates all mitigating factors. As a parent you might be accused of negligence for allowing your children to walk to the park by themselves. That has happened. Should that mom be prevented from getting a job 20 years later because her name pops up in a data bank as being charged with child neglect? Did a Zero Tolerance policy save someone from Eddie or just help destroy him?
So I guess it comes down to answering the question, Do we as followers of Christ extend forgiveness to all people? The answer is, we should but we don't. Is this hypocritical? Does Zero Tolerance trump Forgiveness? If we are truly all of God's children do not all of us deserve Forgiveness and second chances? What would happen if we replaced the words, Zero Tolerance with Golden Rule? Imagine the possibilities or am I just a "Pollyanna".
Copyright © 2015 Larry Peterson
By Larry Peterson
Lent is here. I sit in front of this keyboard with the current memory of ashes smeared across my forehead. The season of Repentance and Forgiveness followed by Redemption is once again upon us. The ashes remind us of our mortality. We all know in our hearts that we will surely die one day. Just like the adulterous woman in the Gospel reading (John 8: 2-11) we want to be FORGIVEN for all the bad things we have done in our lifetimes. When we do make that final journey we desperately want our final destination to be heaven.
That is why God became man, isn't it? So all of us would have the chance to reach that final destination. That is why he came and lived among us and taught us how to live. That is why He allowed Himself to be beaten and tortured and finally killed by being nailed to a cross. This is Lent--and, once again, we prepare. But what about that key to redemption called the "Golden Rule"? Does it not apply to everyone? It seems to me it is supposed to. Do I have this all wrong? Has the sex scandal that rocked our beloved Church turned it into a Bi-forgiveness institution? Do we forgive and not-forgive depending upon the sin?
I live in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL. I have been an EMHC (Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion) for over 20 years. Bringing Holy Communion to the sick and home bound is a great joy. Five years ago I (and all those who serve in this ministry) were required to attend "Safe Environment Training" and undergo a Level II background check. This included having your fingerprints run through the FBI database. Now all of us who went through that are "required" to do it again. Why? Who knows. I assumed fingerprints lasted longer than five years. Just run them again, right? I wish it were that simple.
So, I am going through my certification and paperwork from five years ago and I come across the "47 List" (I call it the "47 List", just me). This is a list of different offenses as described under Florida Statutes that the Diocese of St. Petersburg uses to determine eligibility for employment or volunteer positions. If a person who is applying for a position that would place them near minors or vulnerable adults happens to fit the profile of one of the 47 sections, they enter the ranks of the "Unforgiven". They are the people that become "Persona non grata", permanently, aka Zero Tolerance
Many of these laws have to do with sexual abuse and many do not. Many have to do with charges that can be ambiguous. Here is an example: Section 843.01; relating to resisting arrest with violence. If a police officer tries to arrest you and you take a swing at him you can be charged with violating this statute. Makes sense, right? When Zero Tolerance is plugged into the equation nothing else matters. It is over. ZERO means ZERO--NOTHING. This is my dilemma. I hate Zero Tolerance.
Every person is different and every action is different. If someone walks up to me and shoots me in the head I can be killed. If I walk across the street against the light and get hit by a car I can be killed. In both cases my being dead is the same. But the reasons were different. The shooter who killed me can get the death penalty or life in prison. The driver of the car was not responsible for my behavior and goes on about his/her life. Zero Tolerance would put the driver in the same category as the shooter.
Case in point: A young man I know for many years by the name of Eddie (not his real name) has a learning disability. When he was 19, Eddie and a few friends had to much to drink. Eddie passed out and his friends propped him in a sitting position against the back wall of a local restaurant. They took magic markers and, being goofy, drew all over his face and arms etc. Then they left him there and headed home (Nice friends). Patrons leaving the restaurant saw him and reported him to the manager who promptly called the police.
The police arrived and saw this large, (he is a big guy) young man sleeping against the back of the building. Shining their flashlights on him they saw the magic marker scribbled all over him. They shook him to wake him and he did not respond. Then they shook him harder and yelled for him to wake up. The touch of the firm hand on his shoulder startled Eddie. He woke up and swung at the officer hitting him in the shoulder. He was promptly "subdued", handcuffed and arrested for violation of section 843.01: resisting arrest with violence. Off to the county jail he went.
The police were only doing their job. If I were they I would have been super cautious too. Eddie had been a foolish 19 year old. The fact is, he was just frightened and instinctively lashed out to protect himself. Having only a vague recollection of what had happened he pleaded "guilty" to the charges. He was given probation and some community service. To this day it is the only time in his life Eddie has been in any trouble.
We move ahead almost 15 years. A local catholic high school has an opening for a cafeteria worker. Eddie, who had a hard time finding work because of his disability, gets the job and is thrilled. He actually starts work before his background check is complete. A few days in and his supervisor is called to the school office and told that Eddie has to leave immediately. He failed the background check and cannot be anywhere on school grounds. Eddie is stunned and leaves the school crying. That was four years ago and he still has not found a new job. He is on anti-depressants and lives with his parents. In Eddie's case Zero Tolerance became his abuser.
Five years ago when I was attending the Safe Environment class the facilitator, in her opening remarks, told everyone a story about a man who had been a volunteer bus driver for the school for several years. She went on to say how "fortunate and blessed" the school was to have been able to find out through the Safe Environment background check, that the man had been guilty of having a DUI 20 years earlier. He was immediately dismissed from his "volunteer job" and she was quite pleased even though the guy had been clean and sober ever since his DUI.
I was appalled and let them know it. Everyone thought I was trying to hide some personal demon in my own life. The facilitator even came over to me and, bending down close to me, said, "We can talk later if you have some personal issues". No one seemed to understand that I just thought it was UN-Christian to not forgive this man. I told her that she and folks like her were my issue. She did not understand nor get my point.
Look, I deplore sexual deviants and anyone who sexually harms kids and /or adults is a reprobate. We have to protect our children and vulnerable seniors and our moms and wives and everyone from people who might harm them physically, emotionally and sexually. But is Zero Tolerance the way to go? After all, it eliminates all mitigating factors. As a parent you might be accused of negligence for allowing your children to walk to the park by themselves. That has happened. Should that mom be prevented from getting a job 20 years later because her name pops up in a data bank as being charged with child neglect? Did a Zero Tolerance policy save someone from Eddie or just help destroy him?
So I guess it comes down to answering the question, Do we as followers of Christ extend forgiveness to all people? The answer is, we should but we don't. Is this hypocritical? Does Zero Tolerance trump Forgiveness? If we are truly all of God's children do not all of us deserve Forgiveness and second chances? What would happen if we replaced the words, Zero Tolerance with Golden Rule? Imagine the possibilities or am I just a "Pollyanna".
Copyright © 2015 Larry Peterson
February 13, 2015
The Beauty of Valentine's Day has been Hijacked by "50 Shades of Grey"
By Larry Peterson
Valentine's Day has been hijacked by the movie, "50 Shades of Grey". A day that is all about love and romance and flowers and candy and hugs and kisses has been turned into a celebration of deviance and depravity. In fact, the movie celebrates the degradation of women. And it is being glorified and praised as the "great love story of our day. What kind of bizarre and twisted nonsense is this?
Here is part of one advertisement from a company by the name of "pink cherry.com." It is one of many spread throughout cyber world advertising this years preferred Valentine's Day gifts. These gifts are being offered because of the "50 Shades of Grey" book trilogy and movie:
"Indulge in the steamy world of Fifty Shades of Grey, a New York Times #1 Best Seller from new author E. L. James. Explore the possibilities of how both the book and related toys can bring you and your partners to new levels of excitement and pleasure. Let the world of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele bring you to a place you may have never explored--or only just toyed with. The possibilities are endless---"
This is the blurb from the movie theaters in my surrounding area promoting the film for the Valentine's Day weekend:
SYNOPSIS: Fifty Shades of Grey is the hotly anticipated adaption of the best selling book that has become a global phenomenon. Since its release, the Fifty Shades" trilogy has sold more than 100 million copies in e-book and print--making it one of the biggest and fastest selling book series ever. Stepping into the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, who have become iconic to millions of readers, are Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson--
I am a man and I just do not understand. This aberration called Fifty Shades of Grey promotes a debased and contorted view of how love can be. It offers to women the narrative that being handcuffed, beaten, chained and/or whipped (among other things) is sexually stimulating and could lead to a "happily ever after" ending. Does not the independent, supposedly liberated woman of the 21st century find Anastasia Steele submissive, weak and needy? What about her self-respect and dignity? Christian Grey chews it up and spits it out. She is an object to him, not a real person.
Debased as this story is the movie trailer, based on the novel, logged in more than 36 million YouTube views in its first week. Women LOVE this book (over 100 million sold mostly to women) and the movie will pack them in over the Valentine's Day weekend. I do not get it.
To all you women out there let this "old fool" tell you a few things. First of all, a real man will respect you as a woman and a person. He will not try to manipulate you, subjugate you or coerce you into doing anything that you do not want to. (Of course, early on, he will be on his best behavior in his quest to get you to like him. If he is not--RUN.) Secondly, He will NOT demand to constantly know where you have been or what you are doing. Third, he will honor your wants and needs and you will know in your heart if he is "full of it". A relationship is a two way street. A mutual trust and respect must be shared between you. It is the basis of all things going forward.
We are all God's children. Men and women compliment each other. It is NATURAL. It is the way it is supposed to be. Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger starred in the movie, "Jerry McGuire". At he end of the movie, Jerry (played by Cruise) says to Dorothy (played by Zellweger) "You complete me". It was the defining moment for Jerry and Dorothy. I believe that one scene is what made the film the big hit that it was because, as they embraced and kissed, everyone watching was now able to feel them sharing the love that they had for each other. Those three words summed up the way a permanent relationship between a man and a woman should be. They should "complete each other".
Finally, you might consider that the sex part of the relationship is a perk. It is a beautiful thing to share between two people in love. But it is NOT the "end all" or the most important thing or the only thing. The BEST part of the sex should be after it is over and you can just be together holding each other and feeling the love flow between you. You have shared with each other your very heart and souls. You have completed each other and you did not need handcuffs.
copyright 2015 Larry Peterson
February 10, 2015
Baby Turtles vs Baby People --"and the Winner is"?
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
We have in place in this country a law called the Endangered Species Act. Under this act wildlife considered "endangered" are protected by law from being killed, or maimed or harmed in anyway. There are many good points to this law as some of our most revered wildlife, like the Bald Eagle, have been saved from possible extinction. But, what about the "Baby People"? Don't they count?
In Florida, sand as white as snow curls up the Gulf Coast from Naples north to the panhandle area with some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet. People come from all over the world to visit these beaches and bask in the brilliant Florida sun and fish and swim in the calm and clear Gulf waters. But there is one thing these folks and all folks had better not do while visiting these beaches. If they do not want to wind up in jail they had better not mess around with the sea turtles. They are on the Endangered Species List and they nest on the beaches.
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is one of these protected turtles. It can be found (like baby people) all over the world. However, its primary habitat is the Florida coast north to Virginia. It is estimated that these turtles build 67,000 nests a year along the beaches. The female lays her eggs in the sand and buries them. After two months they hatch, crawl to the sea and begin their lives. Of all the hatch-lings maybe 8000 baby turtles survive. They will live close to 60 years.
It is illegal to harm, harass, or kill any sea turtles, their eggs, or hatchlings. It is also illegal to import, sell, or transport turtles or their products. It is perfectly legal to kill baby people who have not been born. In the United States, since Roe vs Wade was passed in 1973, 55,000,000 abortions have been performed. Fifty five million baby people have been vanquished from existence, many of them burned alive via the Saline Abortion method. That extrapolates out to 1,309,524 baby people a year killed in America.
In 2014 there were 3.93 million births in the United States. That means that approximately one out of every four pregnancies in our country results in a life extinguished. Sea turtles are given every chance to survive with the government going so far as to put people in prison who might interfere with their survival. On the other hand, baby people are welcomed into legalized and sweetly painted extermination camps and, unmercifully and without fanfare or emotion, eradicated.
Whatever are we doing? We civilized people have allowed a portion of our past to be destroyed. We are allowing our present to be vilified by what can only be called a great lie fabricated as the virtue of "helping" women. We have short circuited the future of our children and grandchildren by taking away from them the possibility of another Rembrandt, or a Mozart or a Jonas Salk, or a Martin Luther King Jr., or even an Abraham Lincoln living among them.
There is a world wide abortion counter that ticks off the abortions around the world as they happen. Look for yourself. More than one life a second is being aborted. Genocide of the innocent, living in and out of the womb, is rampant on planet Earth. Whatever have we wrought?
Copyright 2015 Larry Peterson
By Larry Peterson
We have in place in this country a law called the Endangered Species Act. Under this act wildlife considered "endangered" are protected by law from being killed, or maimed or harmed in anyway. There are many good points to this law as some of our most revered wildlife, like the Bald Eagle, have been saved from possible extinction. But, what about the "Baby People"? Don't they count?
In Florida, sand as white as snow curls up the Gulf Coast from Naples north to the panhandle area with some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet. People come from all over the world to visit these beaches and bask in the brilliant Florida sun and fish and swim in the calm and clear Gulf waters. But there is one thing these folks and all folks had better not do while visiting these beaches. If they do not want to wind up in jail they had better not mess around with the sea turtles. They are on the Endangered Species List and they nest on the beaches.
 |
| Loggerhead Turtle--PROTECTED by the USA |
It is illegal to harm, harass, or kill any sea turtles, their eggs, or hatchlings. It is also illegal to import, sell, or transport turtles or their products. It is perfectly legal to kill baby people who have not been born. In the United States, since Roe vs Wade was passed in 1973, 55,000,000 abortions have been performed. Fifty five million baby people have been vanquished from existence, many of them burned alive via the Saline Abortion method. That extrapolates out to 1,309,524 baby people a year killed in America.
In 2014 there were 3.93 million births in the United States. That means that approximately one out of every four pregnancies in our country results in a life extinguished. Sea turtles are given every chance to survive with the government going so far as to put people in prison who might interfere with their survival. On the other hand, baby people are welcomed into legalized and sweetly painted extermination camps and, unmercifully and without fanfare or emotion, eradicated.
Whatever are we doing? We civilized people have allowed a portion of our past to be destroyed. We are allowing our present to be vilified by what can only be called a great lie fabricated as the virtue of "helping" women. We have short circuited the future of our children and grandchildren by taking away from them the possibility of another Rembrandt, or a Mozart or a Jonas Salk, or a Martin Luther King Jr., or even an Abraham Lincoln living among them.
There is a world wide abortion counter that ticks off the abortions around the world as they happen. Look for yourself. More than one life a second is being aborted. Genocide of the innocent, living in and out of the womb, is rampant on planet Earth. Whatever have we wrought?
Copyright 2015 Larry Peterson
February 4, 2015
From Anti-Semitism to Anti-Christism; The 21st Century Holocaust is Upon Us
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
Seventy (70) years ago Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. Today, genocide is once again running rampant in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle-east, and is widening like a swarm of unstoppable locusts spreading slowly and viciously across the world. What is the difference of the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis in Germany or the genocide being perpetrated by ISIS and radical Muslim Extremists in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan and even Europe and bit by bit in the United States? The answer--NOTHING.
Nothing is different because the end result is the same. Extermination of those that are hated. Whatever the reason one has for committing these atrocities does not matter. Hate is hate and it comes from an 'evil spirit' that has captured and harnessed each and every one of those haters having them commit their atrocities with glee and pleasure. How sick and twisted this is. How sick and twisted it is to deny it is happening now as it did then. How irresponsible and derelict in their responsibilities are the educators and historians and those who know better to NOT teach this history and, worse yet, to alter and/or taint it.
The picture above is not fake. It is not a sketch or a painting. It is of a REAL place. It is the entrance to Auschwitz/Birkenau in Poland. People like you and I---men, women, children, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents, cousins and friends---were all brought to this place against their will. Upon arrival at this annex of Hades, they were immediately either put to work as slaves or sent to the gas chambers and murdered. They had been dehumanized, declared "sub-human" and efficiently eradicated. Ladies and gentlemen, young and old alike, there is NO DENYING THIS.
Yes, they were real people. They had dreams and hopes and loved and sang and danced and enjoyed a nice meal. They loved Hanukkah and Christmas (there were over two thousand Catholic priests murdered in the Holocaust and many Catholic nuns). Included among those possessing "lives unworthy of life" were, gypsies, Soviets, homosexuals, disabled persons, Slavs, religious and political dissidents, and non-Jewish poles and Dutch and Austrians and French and on and on. Six million Jews and another six million non-Jews. And people DENY that the Holocaust actually happened. Are you kidding me?
It is the year 2015. When Auschwitz was liberated General Eisenhower told his people to photograph everything lest the day comes when people begin to forget. The photos and film and records of this vicious genocide is there for all the world to see. Yet people deny it and schools may teach it in a cursory manner if at all. ISIS is running rampant throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa wantonly killing Christians without repercussion. Thousands upon thousands of innocent people, including Americans, have been killed in ISIS's world wide "Jihad" against the "infidels".
ISIS just published a 22 minute video of the the most heinous and barbaric execution of a captured Jordanian pilot. They burned him alive in a cage for all the world to see. Unlike the Nazis who tried to camouflage their genocide the cowardly barbarians of ISIS want the world to see what they do and hope that we cower in fear. They have publicly beheaded Americans, Japanese, French, British and others from around the world. They plan to continue their barbarous work on our very shores. Remember Fort Hood, Boston, and Oklahoma City?
It seems to me that the United States of America, a country comprised of people rooted in all nations of the world and blessed with an abundance of technology and resources, has a responsibility to take the lead in the fight against these maniacal terrorists who kill, unhesitatingly, even our children. They hate us and are waging war against us and our friends around the world. It is time for our leaders to forget "political correctness", strap on some American pride and spit bullets into the eye of this thing called ISIS.
The 20th century is gone but not forgotten for millions of us. Our children and grandchildren deserve to experience some 20th century peace and prosperity like we did. God help us all and may God always bless America.
copyright 2015 Larry Peterson
By Larry Peterson
Recently the Anti-Defamation League conducted a global survey asking questions about the Holocaust. Unbelievably, two-thirds of the respondents (mostly younger people) had NEVER heard of the Holocaust and, for those that had, many did not believe the history and suggested that it was simply exaggerated. The rejection of a history so recent and so well documented boggles the mind.
The term, "Denial" is a stock psychological term and most everyone knows what it means when used in proper context. Denying the existence of the Holocaust transcends "Denial". I believe that Holocaust denial must first be fueled by a self-absorbed apathy that results in indifference to all things that do not concern the "denier". The journey to denying Truth then becomes easier if it might cause one so absorbed to experience "pain or discomfort".
After being so weakened with one's own self-love, denying the Holocaust becomes easy. Let's face it, the horrors inflicted upon millions and millions of fellow human beings by their own kind is hard to fathom. But to deny or reject the documented history of such an era is just asinine. If you are among those who might "deny" the Holocaust ever happened you are one step away from falling into the bottomless pit of idiocy.
After being so weakened with one's own self-love, denying the Holocaust becomes easy. Let's face it, the horrors inflicted upon millions and millions of fellow human beings by their own kind is hard to fathom. But to deny or reject the documented history of such an era is just asinine. If you are among those who might "deny" the Holocaust ever happened you are one step away from falling into the bottomless pit of idiocy.
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| Entrance to Auschwitz~~Gateway to Extermination |
Nothing is different because the end result is the same. Extermination of those that are hated. Whatever the reason one has for committing these atrocities does not matter. Hate is hate and it comes from an 'evil spirit' that has captured and harnessed each and every one of those haters having them commit their atrocities with glee and pleasure. How sick and twisted this is. How sick and twisted it is to deny it is happening now as it did then. How irresponsible and derelict in their responsibilities are the educators and historians and those who know better to NOT teach this history and, worse yet, to alter and/or taint it.
The picture above is not fake. It is not a sketch or a painting. It is of a REAL place. It is the entrance to Auschwitz/Birkenau in Poland. People like you and I---men, women, children, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents, cousins and friends---were all brought to this place against their will. Upon arrival at this annex of Hades, they were immediately either put to work as slaves or sent to the gas chambers and murdered. They had been dehumanized, declared "sub-human" and efficiently eradicated. Ladies and gentlemen, young and old alike, there is NO DENYING THIS.
Yes, they were real people. They had dreams and hopes and loved and sang and danced and enjoyed a nice meal. They loved Hanukkah and Christmas (there were over two thousand Catholic priests murdered in the Holocaust and many Catholic nuns). Included among those possessing "lives unworthy of life" were, gypsies, Soviets, homosexuals, disabled persons, Slavs, religious and political dissidents, and non-Jewish poles and Dutch and Austrians and French and on and on. Six million Jews and another six million non-Jews. And people DENY that the Holocaust actually happened. Are you kidding me?
It is the year 2015. When Auschwitz was liberated General Eisenhower told his people to photograph everything lest the day comes when people begin to forget. The photos and film and records of this vicious genocide is there for all the world to see. Yet people deny it and schools may teach it in a cursory manner if at all. ISIS is running rampant throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa wantonly killing Christians without repercussion. Thousands upon thousands of innocent people, including Americans, have been killed in ISIS's world wide "Jihad" against the "infidels".
ISIS just published a 22 minute video of the the most heinous and barbaric execution of a captured Jordanian pilot. They burned him alive in a cage for all the world to see. Unlike the Nazis who tried to camouflage their genocide the cowardly barbarians of ISIS want the world to see what they do and hope that we cower in fear. They have publicly beheaded Americans, Japanese, French, British and others from around the world. They plan to continue their barbarous work on our very shores. Remember Fort Hood, Boston, and Oklahoma City?
It seems to me that the United States of America, a country comprised of people rooted in all nations of the world and blessed with an abundance of technology and resources, has a responsibility to take the lead in the fight against these maniacal terrorists who kill, unhesitatingly, even our children. They hate us and are waging war against us and our friends around the world. It is time for our leaders to forget "political correctness", strap on some American pride and spit bullets into the eye of this thing called ISIS.
The 20th century is gone but not forgotten for millions of us. Our children and grandchildren deserve to experience some 20th century peace and prosperity like we did. God help us all and may God always bless America.
copyright 2015 Larry Peterson
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