What?! No Holocaust?? Consider the Source...

Sometimes thinking in a humorous or obscure view can eleviate the tension of talking politics with mind-set people like in-laws. I always get a bit annoyed by their bad mouthing former President Clinton, usually because they can't put the blow job episode to bed. So, at our Maine visit with them in July, politics come up.

Now, understand that I have taken the policy to smile and nod my head when controversial issues come up ("uh huh, yeah, right" type blended with a good measure of internal sarcasm). Doing so usually keeps me out of trouble.

However, for some reason it internally disturbs me to see devoted Christians, like my in-laws, talking ill of the policies of former Democratic Presidents Clinton and Carter all due to the Republican mudslinging, and disregarding the humanitarian good these presidents have shown their country and the world.

As expected, the discourse of the terrible Presidents Carter and Clinton came up and somehow (a miracle, perhaps) we got off that topic. Only to go directly to the Iraq Conflict and controversy with Iran. [dramatic music] Holocaust deniers! [/dramatic music] There's no way to make that topic any better, I thought, nor any way to make the leadership of Iran any more at our level of human with that topic. World War III--get ready!

Then, like a dove from heaven, a thought came into my head and before I could think it through, I began to say, "you really need to look at it from their perspective." Oh, dear God! What am I saying, I thought to myself. "Consider how they live daily. Ethnic cleansing is normal, every day stuff to them."

Oh, my. I was looking for my foot to insert in my mouth, but no, I continued to talk. "So, what we consider the Holocaust, it's really nothing new for them." Gasp. Oh, God, you know my mother-in-law's mind is difficult to sway, this isn't good, I thought, as I expected her to rant about how terrible it is for anyone to deny such horrendous torture and death.

A brief moment of silence. Then, my mother-in-law says, "I never thought of it that way. You might be right with that." And with that, the holocaust denial discussion was tucked away and put to bed. Whew. That was GOOD.

I have a feeling that my brilliant conclusion might have come from my diligent observation of the off-perspective views from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. If so, thank you, gentlemen, and keep 'em coming. If not, I believe TDS and TCR sentiment is there, and maybe they will bring up this point of view about holocaust denial as business as usual, when it surfaces again.