The Article That I Erased Twice

Forgetting is a gift.

So is remembering.

A friend who has a photographic memory once described how his brain categorizes everything, capturing in perfect recall even the things he desperately wishes he could forget.?

There are things we want to forget, and things we must remember.

Just a few weekends ago, January 27th, marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. A day to hold in memory something so horrendous that we wish we could forget and yet it is our duty to remember, or risk repeating the horrific consequence of allowing hatred to slip quietly in.?

There have been other genocides. Rwanda’s 1994 Genocide, Cambodia’s Killing Fields, and more. They all grew in the shade of fear. Small slights of otherness grew, festering into “us against them” until it resulting in annihilation no one expected.

I choose to remember. And I confess that sharing that commitment can feel tricky. I deleted my article intended for Martin Luther King Day, another important day that reminds us of the power of standing for what you believe in with peaceful resolution. Why? I was concerned that I might say the “wrong” thing or be seen as slighting because I was born in the “wrong package” for comment. And I deleted this article last week fearing the same. Fear of being misunderstood.

Who am I to say anything? Actually, who am I not to? We are all connected.?

We must remember in hopes of knowing better, collectively recognizing the patterns that lead to such violence:

1. In each case they were facing country wide hardship when a charismatic "hardline" leader(s) promised change in the form of blaming and creating enemies to outcast and rise against.?
2. Every genocide started with dehumanizing propaganda and blame.
3. Fear blistered the heat of angst into reactiveness. Neighbors did unthinkable things to people they used to live with peacefully. Or looked away. Catastrophic loss resulted, for everyone.

We are living in challenging times around the globe. Hate crimes and otherness are flaring. Let us remember.?

No place on our planet is immune to the pattern. It is up to each of us to stay vigilant and resolved to speak to actions and statements of hatred with calm reminders and to stand for peace right where we are.

Speak up when we hear people being labeled. Stand up when hatred rules the day.?

Remembering is a gift. Speaking up is a risk worth taking.

What happens to one of us, happens to all of us.?

#IRemember #Peace #Remember #HolocaustRememberanceDay #MartinLutherKingDay #ChooseLove