"Fear can drive stick and it's taking me down this road... a road down which I swore I'd never go."
from "Devastation and Reform" by (The Amazing) Relient K

In my Honors English II class we are currently indulging in the beautiful writing and terrifying experiences of Mr. Elie Wiesel. His book, Night, is filled with traumatic, horrifying, undeniably true stories of his encounters while in the Holocaust. He is a survivor, and was one of the many people at the concentration camp called Auschwitz. The horrors of World War II leave me speechless; I am numb to the perpetual depletion of compassion in the world. I cannot imagine being in Mr. Wiesel's position. I cannot express the amount of respect that I have for not only him, but all the others who were stolen of their precious lives.
I give my regards to them all.
In class, we were discussing how in the world anyone could condone the killing or even participate in the murdering of thousands of their very own kind. Humans killing humans. What a disgusting thought. I raised my hand and said, "Fear can drive people to do anything," and my teacher agreed. I believe we all ultimately forget that the residents of Germany during the time of World War II/The Holocaust must have also had it quite difficult. I am in no way, shape, or form accepting or encouraging the belittling of the Jews. I am only choosing to recognize the evidence of truth that fear is extremely powerful and significant in one's actions. What would you do if a small Jewish child knocked on your door, and needed a place to stay? Would you hide them even knowing that if you were caught you and your family would surely be put to death? Would you do it anyways, because you knew it was the right thing to do? In all reality, this person and their family is just as deserving as you and I are. So, what's the verdict? We all would inevitably desire to help this person, but how many of us would actually do it? It is always hard to nurture the truth, but it is becoming scarily easy to ignore it. Reading this book is opening my eyes. I need to teach myself that the truth is always the way. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the light." We should all live our lives and train ourselves well, so that if and when the time comes, we will not back down because we are afraid.
We will stand strong and deliver what is expected of us.