I was listening to "talk radio" today... I just love it. Anyway, as I was flipping through some shows, I heard one of the hosts begin talking about a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was also a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. His involvement in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging in April 1945, 23 days before the Nazis' surrender. His view of Christianity's role in the secular world has become very influential. (via Wikipedia)
Anyway, the radio station went on to make the following point: If we were faced with a drunk driver, would we 1.) Stop the person from driving OR 2.) Allow the person to drive, only to have them crash into another car and kill an innocent person, only then making ourselves available to the family of the deceased for support? Giving those TWO options, of course, hopefully you would pick #1.
That is what Mr. Bonhoeffer was trying to do during the Holocaust. He was trying to stop Hitler before millions of innocent people were killed. Unfortunately, he was executed by hanging at dawn on April 9, 1945, just three weeks before the Soviet capture of Berlin and a month before the capitulation of Nazi Germany. He tried to stop a horrible massacre even though he knew he would likely give his life for his actions.
You see, regardless if you are confronting a drunk driver or trying to stop a mass murderer - it takes courage. And many times throughout history, when people have tried to do the right thing, they've been destroyed.
So, should we be deterred from doing what's right because it's the hard thing to do?
Well, here's what I've always heard:
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking."
-J. C. Watts
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