Kristallnacht

Because I spent a lot of my teenage and early adult years listening to and singing Bob Dylan songs, I'm intrigued by his son, Jakob. The young man sings country, and he's easier to understand than his father has become in the past few years. But his voice is mellow, his songs interesting, and if I were still in song-buying mode, I'd spring for one of his CD's. Really, I've accumulated so many CD's over the years, and I don't listen to half of them anymore, I can't justify the cost. But if you haven't heard him yet, I think he's worth a listen. There are youtube clips out there. I especially like "Everybody's Hurting".

Today's quote:  "How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind. The answer is blowin in the wind." – Bob Dylan, "Blowin in the Wind", 1962.

On a heavier note, I spent a few hours today watching "The Third Reich" on the History channel. It was an excellent documentary. It showed how Hitler rose to power in Germany. In my over-simplified recap, Hitler first built up Aryan pride while blaming all Germany's problems on the Jews, and then he nationalized everything, including the schools. Once the children and youth were indoctrinated to his ideology, he turned children against parents, neighbor against neighbor, and then it was just a matter of time before he went after the Jews. Any German who might have been sympathetic to the plight of the Jews was too frightened to intercede.

There was a lot off footage of so many atrocities against the Jews it was heart-breaking. If you haven't seen or read about it, have the courage to at least Google Kristallnacht ("Crystal Night"), "The Night of Broken Glass".

"Kristallnacht" took place throughout Germany and German occupied areas of Austria and Czechoslovakia on November 9 and 10, 1938. Over 260 synagogues were burned, while German firemen stood and watched. An estimated 7500 Jewish businesses were destroyed while the German police watched. Twenty-six thousand Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Many Jews were physically attacked, and at least ninety-one died. Jewish homes were looted, Jewish cemeteries were destroyed. These were people whose only crime was having been born Jews.

Anti-Semitism, hostility and hatred toward Jews, was the tinder for Kristallnacht. And unfortunately anti-Semitism is on the rise again, throughout Europe and the Middle East. I hope, I pray, that no one makes the mistake of repeating the travesties of the past.

Oh, and if you're into horror stories, do some research on Josef Rudolf Mengele, the "Angel of Death". If ever there was a man straight out of the bowels of hell, it was Josef Mengele. There is absolutely no fictional monster that could hold a candle to him. And he was sanctioned by Hitler. Read about him early in the day, and then watch or read something light-hearted before bed, and maybe, maybe you won't have nightmares.

Tonight I'm drinking lapsang souchong tea. It has a very smoky flavor. If you don't love the smell of wood smoke, you wouldn't like lapsang souchong.

My mug has a picture that reminds me of Vincent van Gogh's "Irises". There's a thatch-roofed cottage with coneflowers and what might be petunias in the foreground. The Bible verse on the side is Joshua 24:15—"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

If you want, you could comment and let me know what your own mug looks like, and what kind or tea you're drinking. I'd like to know. That way it would be more like you were actually having tea with me.

Dieu vous bénisse! ("God bless you", in French)