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Tolerance for all or freedom for none
GLENDALE
GUEST COMMENTARY
The News-Press editorial of Aug. 2 took exception to the Citizen's Memorial Committee inclusion of the recognition of Cesar Chavez's birthday and suggestion that additional requests for other days of commemoration be considered.
Early on in the discussions of the Memorial Committee we heard first from
one
member and then another and then another and then yet another of the
tragedies that had beset them or their ancestors because of their race,
ethnicity, religion or nationality.
The history of mankind is a litany of man's inhumanity to man. The
injustices
that demean individuals and communities often lead to that group of people
being perceived as being of less value, deserving less respect, somehow not
being entitled to their share of protection under the law. Only when we,
each
and every one of us, come to recognize that the loss of human rights by one
person endangers the human rights of all people can we hope to write pages
of
history filled not with death but with compassion and understanding. Martin
Niemoeller said it best: "In Germany they came first for the Communists, and
I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade
unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then
they
came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
It was, I believe, to this end that the Memorial Committee looked with favor upon the City Council taking a leadership role in educating this community not only about the Armenian Genocide, but also in recognizing the injustices which are a part of the history of many of its residents. One way to accomplish this is by commemorating such days as Martin Luther King's and Cesar Chavez's birthdays and to consider additional requests for other days of commemoration. Each day of commemoration offers the opportunity of an additional history lesson.
By remembering injustice we can learn to recognize it. Only by recognizing
it
can we hope to prevent its repetition and its tragic consequences.
And wouldn't that be the most amazing memorial of all?
MARY W. BOGER is co-chairwoman of the Citizen's Memorial Advisory Committee.
Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News Archives