Dear Editor,
On March 22, 1933, Dachau opened as the first concentration camp of the Nazi regime. Initially, it imprisoned political opponents, later incarcerating the undesirables, Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the physically and mentally impaired and others on the margins of society. Few in Germany raised voices of opposition either because of ignorance, indifference or fear of retaliation.
The recent comments of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier would have been applauded by those who supported the ideas of isolating the unwanted of Germany in the 1930’s. Suggesting that alligators, pythons and the vast wetlands of the Everglades are sufficient deterrents to anyone wishing to escape only indicates the level of dystopia to which he has sunk. Obviously, he has never trekked through the jungles of the Darien Gap, crossed the shark infested and storm-tossed waters of the Atlantic, or risked his life and the lives of his family members with smugglers in a search for freedom.
Bill Bullard authored the following, “Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge because it requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, because it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world.”
I would suggest that Mr. Uthmeier, should apply the moral and mental effort to comprehend what he is condoning? When empathy is absent or viewed as a weakness, then humanity no longer possesses its inherent dignity and value, and we will have devolved backwards into our animal instincts.
Rev. Leo F. Armbrust
Glen Ridge, Florida
Glen Ridge, Florida
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