Optimism Even in Irony

Noble be man,
Helpful and good!
For that alone
Sets him apart
From every other creature
On earth.
(from Goethe's The Divine, 1783)

When I arrived at Temple Sinai tonight for a Social Action Committee meeting I noticed a magnet on one of the filing cabinets. The magnet was from the U.S. Holocaust Museum and its message was one of remembrance. I first thought of the story I heard on NPR this morning about Pope Benedict's XVI's decision to undo the excommunication of a bishop who recently denied the Holocaust by stating: "The historical evidence is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler." This, of course, saddens me. I worry about the impact John Paul II's successor will have on Catholic-Jewish relations. 

But, instead of dwelling on the negative, my thoughts quickly shifted. The magnet also reminded me of the two times I visited the Museum. At the end of the exhibit there is a sitting area where various videos are played. My favorite involves the story of a U.S. military officer who helped to liberate Jewish prison camp survivors. At the Museum, the story of Kurt Klein is woven into the telling of Gerda Weissman Klein's. At one point Gerda, a Jewish prisoner, leads the officers to where other women laid dying. She opens the door, waves her hand over the scene, and tells Kurt, "Noble be man, merciful and good." Kurt describes his disbelief and irony in how Gerda was able to summon the words of Goethe's The Divine at such a moment. 

Gerda's words caused me then and now to reflect on one of my favorite books of all time, Man's Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. The human ability to survive, persist, and even thrive in horrid situations comforts me. When tested, I believe most of us are stronger than we realize. I recently read the following: "Every time I feel loveless, I think of something I've heard on a few occasions: Love is a Verb. Then I know what to do." 

Love, demonstrated by good acts, is the essence of our human capacity. It is, as Goethe aptly noted, what sets us apart. Another one of my goals for 2009 is to live more comfortably and to embrace and love more fully whatever and whomever is put in my path. There is optimism to be found in the darkest of times; my very own, if you will, "This I Believe." 

The links to the videos are worth the time. If, however, you find them too cumbersome to watch an abbreviated version of the Kleins' story may be read here.