Not saying the Holocaust wasn't/isn't the chief case study for many when it comes to the horrors humanity can unleash, but it seems to me that even if it had not happened, from the Armenian Genocide to the Killing Fields to the Holodomor, there is (tragically) no shortage of similar atrocities that should teach people today that these th…
Not saying the Holocaust wasn't/isn't the chief case study for many when it comes to the horrors humanity can unleash, but it seems to me that even if it had not happened, from the Armenian Genocide to the Killing Fields to the Holodomor, there is (tragically) no shortage of similar atrocities that should teach people today that these things are very, very possible. Now, whether or not they do/would I grant is open to discussion, especially regarding how well they are (or are not) being taught in many places.
I agree with everything you’ve said, but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. I intended the reference to the Holocaust to stand for all previous mass murders of societal dimension. The refusal of some to admit that Man is a fallen creature and capable of barbarity is due to the Pollyannish belief that we are better than the world that gave rise to us. It is only evidence of our past barbarity that proves to the rose-colored glasses brigade just how base we can be. We are all guilty of this failure of imagination – who among us envisioned on Sept 10, 2001 flying 4 planes into buildings? It wasn’t until the next morning that our imaginations were expanded.
Not saying the Holocaust wasn't/isn't the chief case study for many when it comes to the horrors humanity can unleash, but it seems to me that even if it had not happened, from the Armenian Genocide to the Killing Fields to the Holodomor, there is (tragically) no shortage of similar atrocities that should teach people today that these things are very, very possible. Now, whether or not they do/would I grant is open to discussion, especially regarding how well they are (or are not) being taught in many places.
I agree with everything you’ve said, but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. I intended the reference to the Holocaust to stand for all previous mass murders of societal dimension. The refusal of some to admit that Man is a fallen creature and capable of barbarity is due to the Pollyannish belief that we are better than the world that gave rise to us. It is only evidence of our past barbarity that proves to the rose-colored glasses brigade just how base we can be. We are all guilty of this failure of imagination – who among us envisioned on Sept 10, 2001 flying 4 planes into buildings? It wasn’t until the next morning that our imaginations were expanded.