Posted on 02/22/2007 2:35:37 PM PST by EternalVigilance
On February 22, 1943, Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie, and their friend and associate Christoph Probst were executed by the Nazis. Their "crime" was the distribution of leaflets calling for a just and free government. This little group of students, mainly, was called the White Rose; they only managed to produce six handouts before being detected and fatally dealt with by Roland Freisler, one of the most agenda-driven of National Socialism's notorious judges. The Scholls and their confreres were, in effect, the principles bloggers of their day, expressing suppressed truth in the only format they could get any kind of access to.
But the day that Christoph received his First Holy Communion, declaring in the final moments before his head was sheared from his shoulders, "Now my death will be easy and sweet," was a long time ago. Why remember the members of the White Rose right now? Beside the fact that the names of these heroes should never be forgotten in their own right, the truth is that their message is rising above the level of an historical footnote and regaining relevance every day. Look at what is happening here in the United States, with abortion metastasizing into infanticide and euthanasia just as the pro-life movement has long been warning it would. Look at what is happening in their own country, Germany, where a young student has been seized by the government for the "crime" of being homeschooled. Listen to all the talk about us "good Americans" having no choice but to elect an anti-life leader in 2008, entailing as that course of action does an utter capitulation in the face of all that is most evil in this world. Then consider, if you will, some of what these young people gave their very lives in order to say, and the application it has to what is going on in our own times.
"Why do the German people behave so apathetically in the face of all these abominable crimes, crimes so unworthy of the human race? Hardly anyone thinks about that," they wrote. "It is accepted as fact and put out of mind. The German people slumber on in their dull, stupid sleep and encourage these fascist criminals; they give them the opportunity to carry on their depredations, and of course they do so. Is this a sign that the Germans are brutalized in their simplest human feelings, that no chord within them cries out at the sight of such deeds, that they have sunk into a fatal consciencelessness from which they will never, never awake? It seems to be so, and will certainly be so, if the German does not at last start up out of his stupor, if he does not protest wherever and whenever he can against this clique of criminals, if he shows no sympathy for these hundreds of thousands of victims. (Second Leaflet) . . . But our present state is a dictatorship of evil. 'Oh, we've known that for a long time,' I hear you object, 'and it isn't necessary to bring that to our attention again. But I ask you, if you know that, why do you not bestir yourselves, why do you allow these men who are in power to rob you of one domain of your rights after another?" (Third Leaflet)
In a similar vein, Alan Keyes recently made the following remarks to an audience last November 5 in Pensacola, Florida: "I am being told that as a citizen, or as a political leader, or as a judge, or as a legislator, I cannot acknowledge or speak the name of God. See? We've accepted this. You know that. . . . We have actually been sitting quietly listening to people — most of them on our courts — telling us that our Constitution requires separation of church and state, and therefore, as a matter of public policy and law, we can never bring God into it. Every time I think about this, I say to myself, 'Now, that's interesting.' As a people, all our claim to liberty and representative government rests on the invoking of God's authority, but we are now told that, in our politics, we cannot speak His name. Therefore, we cannot invoke God's authority. So that means that, on the day they finally rip off the mask and tell us that we are no longer governing ourselves, we won't be able to say, 'Oh, God!' and ask for His help. See? We will have denied ourselves that privilege. Someone will stand up and say, 'You can't say His name in here. We ruled Him out of order decades ago'. . . . When are we going to wake up and see what has been done to us?"
The White Rose described nature of the complicity of their fellow citizens with National Socialism at its high water mark in the following terms: "If the German people are already so corrupted and spiritually crushed that they do not raise a hand, frivolously trusting in a questionable faith in a lawful order in history; if they surrender man's highest principle, that which raises him above God's other creatures, his free will; if they abandon the will to take decisive action and turn the wheel of history and thus subject it to their own rational decision . . . then yes, they deserve their downfall. . . . So it seems, but it is not so. Rather, by means of a gradual, systematic, treacherous abuse, the system has put every man into a spiritual prison. Only now, finding himself lying in fetters, has he become aware of his fate." (First Leaflet)
"We now live in a time," Alan Keyes reminded his listeners during the same talk, "when the whole intention of the First Amendment has been subverted, and when the very language that was intended to prevent national dictatorship on the subject of religion is used by the federal courts to impose, by dictatorship, a uniform regime of atheism throughout the United States. And some of you may ask, here I am on Patriotic Sunday, a God and Country rally, an I'm talking to folks about this arcane, constitutional subject. Why would I want to go through all this? Because, if you were standing up here and you would look out and you would see this wonderful, nicely clean-cut, attentive audience — when I see you all, as Christians wearing the shackles and chains of slavery. That's what I see."
Now, these quotes — and of many others that could be selected — doesn't parallel one another precisely. We shouldn't expect them to. Still, the echoes of the White Rose in the rhetoric of those who understand our situation today are too evident to be overlooked. I've tried to call attention to just a couple of the passages, in the hopes that they will prompt you to read what the Scholls wrote, and go over what Dr. Keyes has to say, looking for larger connections. Some of them, you will find, are quite timely.
The Scholls, for one thing, lived in an era when their countrymen were squeezed between the two forces of Communism and National Socialism. Those countrymen decided, in effect, that Hitler and his brownshirts constituted the "lesser of two evils." This is what it will finally come down to for us Americans as well, if the GOP decides to run a pro-abortion candidate for President in 2008. Keyes touched on this developing crisis last December 2, in Concord, New Hampshire, saying, "And this is the great challenge that I think is faced. One way or another, I believe that the banner of truth, the banner of good, the banner of decency, the banner of constitutional American principle, grounded in the constitution and ultimately in the great principles of the Declaration — they must be represented in the battle that is to be fought in the Republican Party. The standard of right must be raised. It must be raised unequivocally. It must be raised actively. It must be raised without compromise and without calculation."
Or, as the authors of the Fourth Leaflet put it, "I ask you, as a Christian wrestling for the preservation of your greatest treasure, whether you hesitate, whether you incline toward intrigue, calculation, or procrastination in the hope that someone else will raise his arm in your defense? Has God not given you the strength, the will to fight?"
“Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.” - George Washington
Wow. I'd like to see it.
Thank you for the reminder. It was a movie I wanted to see but forgot all about it....
Thank you for that. It is a powerful thing to have faces to go with the stories.
Bump to print for a history lesson for a kid I know. ;)
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
There were two earlier German films made about the Scholls in the 1980s, but neither showed her strong Christian faith in the way that Sophie Scholl-The Final Days did. Here's a review.
Thank you.
Our whole family saw the movie. Very well done, albeit in German with subtitles. Highly recommended.
"Those countrymen decided, in effect, that Hitler and his brownshirts constituted the 'lesser of two evils.' This is what it will finally come down to for us Americans as well, if the GOP decides to run a pro-abortion candidate for President in 2008."
Not necessarily.
We could form a third party and vote for a candidate who stands for our values.
Indeed. The courage needed for us to counter the forces of evil is a fraction of what was needed then. We have not yet slid so far down the God-less path of disrespect and disregard for life and liberty as the Germans of the Twenties, Thirties and Forties. Amazing how rare it still seems to be, though...
Somewher on my hard-drive I have the whole story of The White Rose. I guess I need to find it.
Is Ross Perot trying for a comeback? Hillary will be pleased to hear that.
Nah. Perot was a baby killer too.
"Is Ross Perot trying for a comeback? Hillary will be pleased to hear that."
If the GOP runs a pro-choice candidate, Hillary will win. It's the GOP's call. I do not vote for pro-abortion Republicans for President. Ever. Period. If that means Hillary, then so be it. Hillary's pro-choice, which is no worse than a pro-choice Republican, but the other things that Hillary will do will do dramatic harm to the interests of the other Republicans who insist on having a pro-choice candidate.
Perhaps the pain will be so great after four years of that that Republicans will never make that mistake again.
I note that Ross Perot was able to emerge because George H W Bush lied about taxes. He broke his promise and hiked them. Rather than vote for a liar, many voted for Perot. Clinton won, yes, but I have not seen one single major Republican candidate even at the state level accept the idea of higher taxes ever since 1992. The message was sent and learned by the GOP the hard way: raise taxes, and tax conservatives WILL shoot you dead and hand over power to the other side. Period.
Well, that hasn't happened yet. It doesn't need to happen.
But I am telling you right now that no matter what, I will not vote for a pro-abortion Republican. If that means Hillary Clinton is the President of the United States for 4 years, or 8 years, then that's what it means. It needn't. Just don't RUN a pro-abortion Republican and you won't lose people like me. Run one, and there is absolutely nothing to talk about. There is zero percent chance I will vote for a pro-abortion Republican. If there are millions of pro-lifers like me, and I expect that there are, this means that if you run a pro-life Republican, you have guaranteed that Hillary will be our next President. Guaranteed it. You already know the outcome, so don't do it.
It's really very simple.
Hike taxes, and the Democrat wins.
Run a pro-abortion candidate, and the Democrat wins.
The GOP got the message on the taxes. It sure would be easier if they'd get the message on abortion BEFORE Hillary Clinton is sworn in as the 44th President, wouldn't it?
And assure that Hitlery and her perp husband, both persons with no values I recognize, would surely win. Then the Republic is toast.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.