German and Jewish People: Possibilities
There are still a lot of people in the world who, when they think "German," think "Nazi.
" It is about time to do away with thinking of this kind.
The Second World War was 70 years ago, and the vast bulk of German people living today were not around when it happened.
Which means that conflating today's Germans with Nazis is just as wrong as is conflating today's Jews with Caiaphas.
Instead I see a strong possibility for positive interaction and collaboration between Jewish and German people.
They both have a strong ethic.
They both have respect for education, knowledge and intelligence.
Both of these are winning habits, and there is no reason why two populations that have this positive commonality should be wasting their time and energy being at one another's throats.
Of German and German-descended people I've known, only a few can be legitimately characterized as scoundrels; and there are any number of German people who have earned my respect.
As for political level, Germany has done a lot of good, including extending vast amounts of foreign aid and bailing out the Russian and European economies.
These are not the actions of Nazis.
These are actions of people who are conscientious, and I think it is about time that more German people be credited for such things.
As for the people who actually are Nazis, they need to be dealt with in the same way as any other group of liars.
They should be ignored where they do not have infliuence, and where they do have influence their lies need to be met with truth.
It's not nearly as difficult to do that than it is to confront, for example, America's right-wing conmen, and I've not had a difficult time at all confronting the nonsense of neo-Nazis on the Internet forums where some of them have been.
Whereas the German people who are not neo-Nazis should be accepted and even respected.
Imagine how difficult it would be if your ancestors have done something stupid; you knew all along that it was stupid and tried to move away from such beliefs and behaviors while encountering your ancestors' pressure to maintain their wrongful practices; and then, even in spite of your efforts to set things straight, the rest of the world continued to conflate you with your ancestors' wrongdoing and never giving you a chance to be seen for yourself.
The efforts that many German people have made to do away with Nazi habits, thoughts and behaviors are efforts that should be respected; and failure to respect and reward such efforts only empowers the worst elements in Germany.
As for the German-Jewish relations, whereas some see only possibility for ongoing mutual nastiness, I see a possibility for a rapprochement and a collaboration.
The Jews and the Germans have highly positive things in common, and the more these commonalities are stressed the more there is a beneficial interaction.
In science, in education, in medicine, in business and economics, the Jews and the Germans have both made vast contributions; and the more of them work together instead of fighting each other the greater the benefit for each population and for the world.
" It is about time to do away with thinking of this kind.
The Second World War was 70 years ago, and the vast bulk of German people living today were not around when it happened.
Which means that conflating today's Germans with Nazis is just as wrong as is conflating today's Jews with Caiaphas.
Instead I see a strong possibility for positive interaction and collaboration between Jewish and German people.
They both have a strong ethic.
They both have respect for education, knowledge and intelligence.
Both of these are winning habits, and there is no reason why two populations that have this positive commonality should be wasting their time and energy being at one another's throats.
Of German and German-descended people I've known, only a few can be legitimately characterized as scoundrels; and there are any number of German people who have earned my respect.
As for political level, Germany has done a lot of good, including extending vast amounts of foreign aid and bailing out the Russian and European economies.
These are not the actions of Nazis.
These are actions of people who are conscientious, and I think it is about time that more German people be credited for such things.
As for the people who actually are Nazis, they need to be dealt with in the same way as any other group of liars.
They should be ignored where they do not have infliuence, and where they do have influence their lies need to be met with truth.
It's not nearly as difficult to do that than it is to confront, for example, America's right-wing conmen, and I've not had a difficult time at all confronting the nonsense of neo-Nazis on the Internet forums where some of them have been.
Whereas the German people who are not neo-Nazis should be accepted and even respected.
Imagine how difficult it would be if your ancestors have done something stupid; you knew all along that it was stupid and tried to move away from such beliefs and behaviors while encountering your ancestors' pressure to maintain their wrongful practices; and then, even in spite of your efforts to set things straight, the rest of the world continued to conflate you with your ancestors' wrongdoing and never giving you a chance to be seen for yourself.
The efforts that many German people have made to do away with Nazi habits, thoughts and behaviors are efforts that should be respected; and failure to respect and reward such efforts only empowers the worst elements in Germany.
As for the German-Jewish relations, whereas some see only possibility for ongoing mutual nastiness, I see a possibility for a rapprochement and a collaboration.
The Jews and the Germans have highly positive things in common, and the more these commonalities are stressed the more there is a beneficial interaction.
In science, in education, in medicine, in business and economics, the Jews and the Germans have both made vast contributions; and the more of them work together instead of fighting each other the greater the benefit for each population and for the world.
