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"How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy." - Paul Sweeney
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice, is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other." - John Stuart Mill
This final chapter depicts the author’s recent visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp site, 10 miles north of Munich, in the southern part of Germany.
Closing minutes, Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site.
It’s starting to get busy now as more visitors come through the gates, curious about what this camp stands for. As I walk and say goodbye to the sprawling former camp grounds, I feel a slight drizzle of gentle rain drops falling on my head. Thoughts are ablaze and racing through my head as I wrap up this chapter in my life.
In this chapter, I’ve joined my wife, 19 year old daughter, and German Mother-in-Law on a journey back in time. To a time most want to forget or want to know about.
After visiting the crematorium, gas chambers, and mass execution sites I couldn’t help but think about the oppressed prisoners up against a tough situation and how many stood up to it. Many faced it, paraded and humiliated, then killed or died from illness and starvation. Many also prayed about it, thought about it and endured it. But somehow many did survived the odds because there must have been enough force put there by God to overcome any situations that appeared overwhelmingly impossible.
I also made a mental comparison. I also endured the US Army’s toughest POW training while going through Ranger training. The instructors threw everything at you to break you into a thing less than human, to achieve mind control, and finally annihilation. But I can’t make that same comparison.
I can’t imagine the personal fortitude and strength that came into play against all difficulties each person faced boldly until freedom was attained.
In the end, here’s what I came away with from this trip to tell you:
*We don’t have to wait to be in a similar situation. We all face difficulty and challenges every day. Our concentration camps are now wrapped in health issues, mental challenges, and personal or financial problems. But there is hope.
*Don’t ever think you are a weakling. Don’t ever say you are weak or let someone tell you are weak. Pull from your inner strength into razor sharp focus against all difficulties and simply overpower them.
*Never miss a day of prayer. Done in spurts of time, you will eventually fill your day and provide you with the spiritual strength and mental capacity to endure your difficulties and count your good fortunes instead.
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
Copyright © 2007 by Myles Saulibio. All Rights Reserved
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