Concerning Jews

Dear Diary,

Today we went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum (see pictures on my picasa, you should know how to get there now). It was a beautiful exhibit, a first-rate museum. I highly recommend it. Then, I went out to lunch with friends at the Old Post Office. We took the elevator to the top and saw all of the city. Then, we went back to the shop and had a class. Then, I "laid" down and napped, then I read, then I had an enlightening discussion, then I wrote my blog.

Sincerely,

John

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The Holocaust Memorial Museum always has this imperative postered around and through its halls: Think About What You Saw. I think I will, thank you very much. Unfortunately, the exhibit didn't hit me that hard, unlike some people who go through the exhibits sobbing. I had seen the stuff before, studied the history, watched the movies. It's like I knew it already. But that's not the case entirely. Sure I was emotionally writhing inside, but parts of the museum hit me in a profound way.

Now, before I say what I have to say, I'm not getting all "beatnik" on y'all. Going through the museum, they had thousands of photographs posted everywhere of regular Jewish people who were in the Holocaust. I looked at all of the pictures, and this is what I thought "They are so many beautiful people."

I didn't necessarily mean 'beautiful' along the lines of physical attractiveness, but the humanness of each human struck me so profoundly. These were not statistics, these were loving, beautiful people. Gorgeous people because they were people. Each a different person, a different smile, and different stare. I loved the pictures of some smiling and smoking. Beautiful. I loved the pictures of the women with short, bob cuts and the men with mustaches. Beautiful. I loved the pictures of old orthodox Jews and little ones with their dreidels. Beautiful. In each picture, I saw the beauty of mankind in each picture. I believe God has developed in me the past year a terrific love for mankind, his creation, and his church. I don't even have to know the person, or be in the same generation, and my love pours out. It was the same thing yesterday at Gospel Rescue Missions. I loved everyone there.

Beautiful people, made wonderfully by God.

Beautiful.