Dear editor,
A U.S. Senator recently said, “Words don’t matter, actions do” in response to the former U.S. president’s words, “poisoning the blood of our country.”
From the Holocaust encyclopedia:
“During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or German Christians. The German Christians embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national Reich Church and supported a nazified version of Christianity.”
Continuing, “The Bekennende Kirche — the Confessing Church — emerged in opposition to the German Christians. Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church’s allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the German Christians remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or church struggle, within German Protestantism — an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a nazified church, those who opposed it, and … ”
The following is very important:
“… the so-called neutral church leaders whose priority was the avoidance … of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state.”
During pre-war Germany, most German clergy twisted Christian theology (words) like pretzels before their congregations inuring their congregants to atrocities.
At the closing speech of the recent CPAC event, the former president said, “Today, … I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.”
Seeking the spotlight on an important Christian holiday, the ex-president further set the stage with, “May they rot in hell. Again, Merry Christmas!”
Not all of the people now conditioning the populus for violence and authoritarianism are using the loud, in-your-face, hateful rhetoric detailed here. Many are simply replying, “No comment,” when questioned. Some of them are attending churches or espousing doctrine that aligns with past German Reich Churches, quietly twisting theology like pretzels.
For better or for worse, for unity or for division, for peace or for horror, the honest and vital truth is that words do matter. We must clearly and vocally confront those who use or enable violent rhetoric and cowardly utter, “No comment” or “Words don’t matter.”
Peter Truitt of Danbury
Editor’s note: Wausau Pilot & Review gladly publishes commentary from readers, residents and candidates for local offices. The views of readers and columnists are independent of this newspaper and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wausau Pilot & Review. To submit, email [email protected] or mail to 500 N. Third St., Suite 208-8, Wausau, Wis. 54403.
