The Holocaust did not happen all at once. The kulturkampf under Bismarck years before created a compliant, mindless educational and political culture, in which people no longer learned how to think, but only how to do. They lost their consciences to utilitarianism and false gods, including the gods of mammon, progress and pride.
Hatred grew slowly from the flames of propaganda and incremental laws.
Information on the malnutrition of over 65s in Great Britain, and my own recent experience, plus that of many older people in both America and Great Britain, the growing love-affair with euthanasia and other cultural symptoms of utilitarianism, convince me of a new huge coming, if not in reality, present, displacement of a certain group of people-the elderly.
The elderly are the new DPS of Europe and America.
Already in the States, the elderly are fast becoming the group which is ignored by those in power as well as those in the sub-culture of comfort and individualism. The same is true in Great Britain.
I see displaced elderly here as a result of the loss of jobs, the cutting back of pensions, the hatred of weakness and illness from a section of society which does not value history or see heroic beauty in weakness and suffering.
What older people can give a culture is being lost daily by the marginalization of the old and finally, by death.
Several young people I have spoken with in the past week have told me they wished they had talked with Uncle Tomas, or Aunt Rebecca before they died as history died with them. These young people have lost long years of family history never to be found again.
Too many people absolutely do not care about the corporate memory of the old. Too many people do not care about the reason why God allows the old to grow into weakness and even, sometimes, childishness.
These happenings are for our own benefit.
The result of this hatred of the old is that the old now hate themselves. They will choose death over life, not because death calls them to great glory, but because they cannot withstand the hatred of the young.
Idolatry of the young has forced the old either to pretend they are young, instead of facing the spiritual growth of moving towards death, or to retreat into silence.
I fear the massive, wholesale death of the old-many who saved us from various tyrannies in the past-
death through marginalization and purposeful oversight.
Sadly, the old love and honor due to the elderly in the East has been destroyed, almost, by communism, which does not honor anyone who cannot feed the state. In the West, consumerism and narcissism are killing the old.
I know of one old person who was so marginalized that when he died over Christmas years ago, no one knew for two weeks. No one cared.
England has always admired individualism, but the communal aspect of the culture has rotted away in the bad soil of selfishness.
America is in the same predicament of almost willing the death of millions. This type of mind-set led to the Holocaust-hated of a target group.
There should be no lonely old people. There should be no hungry old people. There should be no homeless old people.
A civilization which murders its young in the womb and isolates its old so that they die alone is no longer a civilization, but a nation of barbarians.
There are no strangers. We make people into strangers. And, for this, we must face Our God, Who is Father of the old, the middle-aged, the young, the babies.
To this, we have come....
I challenge you to adopt one old person in your neighborhood who is alone. I challenge you to make him or her part of your life.
That person will be you in the future...if you are fortunate to be allowed to grow old in grace.
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