May
2
Written by:
Mr. Harbaugh
5/2/2010 7:56 PM
This summer in New York a Holocaust survivor asked those of us assembled to hear her brave story to pledge to stand up when we became aware of injustice. Another survivor asked us to be vigilant, watching "the signposts on the road to Auschwitz." I found myself thinking about both Gisa and Irving when I read of the new law in Arizona that addresses immigration concerns with alarming injustice. This is the beginning of my response to those survivors, those witnesses to history.
Start with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and work your way backward in time. This time maybe you will clearly see a country where people in one "group" relied on unjust laws and entitlements to deny basic human rights to people in another "group." You would be back in a turbulent time in this country, where cultural conflicts often turned violent: church bombings, lynching, and angry mobs. You would witness government agents using and abusing the power of the "law" against innocent, law-abiding citizens. You will hear the words of an angry governor who became the face of injustice, standing in a school doorway, promising segregation forever. White-robed Klansmen. Black fists held up in defiance. Struggle. We all know how that ended.
Start with the capture of the Reichstag in April, 1945, and work your way backward in time. Maybe this time you will clearly all the signposts along the road to the Holocaust. You would be back in a turbulent time in this world, in the Europe of the new Third Reich, where one "group" labeled another "group" unlawful, requiring them to register, and then carry identification papers, and then to be marked as "other." You would witness government agents use the power of the Nuremberg "laws" to target innocent, law-abiding citizens. You would witness most of the population of the Third Reich countries, neither Jew nor Nazi, standing silent, doing nothing. Smoke from the concentration camps issuing into the sky. White ash drifting down. We all know how that ended.
Start with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 on any Native American reservation in the United States, and work your way backward in time. This time maybe you will clearly see the federal government in Washington, and in states across the union, working to push one "group" of people into physical allotments of land to provide another "group" the economic opportunities that came with territorial expansion. You would be back in a turbulent time in the frontier areas of this country, where fear justified incivility, hostility, violence, even slaughter. You would see government agents us the "law" of the land to deny basic human rights to men, women, and children who had lived on that land for centuries. Little Big Horn. Wounded Knee. A trail of tears. We all know how that ended.
Now, start in current day Arizona and work your way forward in time. What will happen as we respond to the new law regarding individuals in our country who have crossed the border illegally, especially the injustice inherent in this law that gives government agents the power to target individuals they believe belong to a certain "group." Law is good and necessary, but not at the expense of justice. Order is good and necessary, but not at the expense of freedom. Security is good and necessary, but not at the expense of humanity.
In this turbulent time in Arizona, fear is once again a powerful factor. Entitlement is once again a powerful factor. Economic opportunities are once again a powerful factor. Still, as we respond to this new law of the land and the needs of the people, let it be all the people. This time let us not fail civility, humanity, freedom, or social justice. And where those things do not exist, let us not stand silently by, witnessing, doing nothing.
So how will it end as we travel forward in time from here? It's hard to know, but history has a lot to teach us.
Copyright ©2010 Corey Harbaugh
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Turbulent Time Traveler
Having had the pleasant experience of reading your letter in Sunday's Gazette, it came as no surprise when I "Googled" your name to discover that you are an English teacher. You received an "A+" from me for the construction of your letter. It was one of the best responses to the Arizona law that I have read. It speaks so clearly to why that law is wrong. Thank you for submitting it and thank you to the Gazette for having the great foresight to publish it. I am also delighted to know that there are teachers such as yourself in the public school systems. Keep up the good work!
Best regards,
Betty Cohen
By Betty Cohen on
5/10/2010 1:17 PM
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