The rain last night fell sideways. I ventured to meet Rebecca after work for some retail extravaganza only to find that not only were my toes soaking wet, but so were my thighs, all the way up to my chest. I wasn’t soaked, but this is the first time the that rain had been this way. It wasn’t a downpour either. The winds were kicking up from the waterfront and playing with the light rain. Back in Iowa, I’m used to these types of rains, but I have yet to be stuck in a good downpour that can soak you in a matter of seconds. On top of that, I haven’t seen a flash of lightning since I landed here.
I’ve been caught up in the last few nights watching an amazing documentary about Auschwitz. It’s not the greatest of all topics to mention or even talk about, but for the longest time, I’ve been deeply intrigued by this dark period in human history. I think a lot of it stems to my fascination with psychology. I had always been incredibly interested about the way humans think and operate on a cognitive level. Why it is that we make the decision we do. That connection of your brain saying to your arm that you want to pick up your fork and eat your dinner. Taking that to the level of this madness that took over a generation of people to do the things they did.
The conditioning that went into this ugly era is unimaginable. I know it’s an old idea to be rehashed, but even time I stop to think about it, the thought confounds me. These stories and images are rough for anyone to endure, and Rebecca made me aware that she lacks the stomach to watch these documentaries while eat a monster of a veggie sandwich I made her the other night. It’s far from an easy subject to watch over dinner. I keep finding myself drawn into the stories. Every time, I’m reminded of the fright I had walking past the ovens at Dachau, but that experience doesn’t stop me from wanting to learn more avenues of those who went through these horrible events first hand. Every story adds to more and more about the whole ordeal. It’s not over-saturation. I just want to know more.
Have you ever sat down with someone in your family such as your grandparents? They tell you stories about the way things were long before you even existed. If you can take a moment to keep your eyes from closing and letting sleep take over you in the midst of one of these moments, this is what I am talking about. First hand accounts of people who have been through periods in history. Information that, if you don’t take the time to absorb, will pass you by when you are not paying attention.
What is more scary are those who say that these things never happened. That all of it is a lie. A made up tale to make people sympathetic to those who were persecuted in these atrocities. Iran has a leader who made such a claim just weeks ago. What’s more frightening? The documentaries that I just watched or the modern day anti-semitism?