The Nazi Holocaust has become perhaps the last moral absolute in an uncertain world. At a time when it seems hard to create a consensus about what is right and wrong on anything from euthanasia to GM food, it is comforting to remind ourselves of the one issue on which we can agree: that there remains a clear line between good and evil. This has created a strangely confused situation. Surveys show that many people are ignorant of the
horrifying facts about the Holocaust. So expensively-educated young men can think it is OK to wear a swastika in polite company. Yet at the same time, the terms "Nazi" and "holocaust" are promiscuously thrown around to describe all manner of present-day problems and conflicts. The demand that we "learn the lessons of the Holocaust" often has little to do with studying the history of the Final Solution. Instead it means slapping these historic labels on to whatever you do not like today. Thus everything from abortion to killing chickens for food is now denounced as a "holocaust".
As I stated previously, I think that THIS is why it was so wrong for the settlers to use the orange star as a symbol of their misguided struggle.
I have been wanting to write about this for ages - so now is as good a time as any.
I am a huge Macintosh computer freak! I have been a member of many Macintosh website discussion boards for some time. One such site, Macobserver.com, used to have a section called "Macwatch" where people could send in a screen capture or link of someone using a Macintosh computer somewhere in the world. One day an Israeli guy sent in a screen shot of then Israel Finance Minister, Meir Sheetrit, using a G4 in his office at the Knesset. This posting sparked a huge debate about whether or not it was politically correct or proper for the website to post an Israeli/Jew using a Macintosh computer.
I watched the discussion for some time - not sure if I wanted to enter into it. I was amazed at the strength of opinion, by seemingly well educated people, and their disgust that the website should allow such a thing to happen, even going as far as to demand an apology to the Palestinian people.
Eventually I joined the discussion, which had at this point turned into a discussion about anti-semitism and the holocaust. One woman named Pam, an American studying for her PHd in somethingorother, said to me "why is it that whenever you try and have an intellectual discussion with Jews about the Middle East conflict, they always have to bring the Holocaust into it? Come on it's been 50 years - get over it!"
I didn't know how to answer her... The date of this conversation was September 10th 2001!
2 days later I went in and posted my last thread. I said to Pam, if you can honestly tell me that Jews around the world should be asked to forget the slaughter of 6 million Jews during the Second World War, then I ask you to forget all about 9/11 in 50 years time.
She apologized!
