In vain have I searched through newspapers for a word of the holocaust. What else could explain it? Certainly it must have happened, similar have been reported in the past. Of the man in France during the Bourbon Restoration, after the bloody campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, it was noted that they were shorter than those of the past generation. Naturally. The taller men, more fit for service, were also more likely to meet their fate on the battleground. Peace came and the shorter in stature remained.
I infer a holocaust, for my mind seeks some explanation for the unfortunate state that has befallen our political and religious leadership. Those who fill the critical positions in these areas seem to be men of such Lilliputian moral and spiritual stature, that they actually shun the light given off by honest men who declaim the truth.
How can it be? Two men appear, similar in their experience, both having survived the brutality of the Soviet prison camps, been among the far-flung islands of the Gulag, and lived to tell of it. One is a Russian, a Nobel prize winner; the other a Ukrainian, Archbishop of Lviv, Cardinal and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Both have been rudely shunted aside by those in authority, for whom that thing which these two men describe — the Truth — is too embarrassing. Worse still, it probably frightens them.
Who should shun the truth, the light of day. First, those who speak falsity and enslave millions under the very banner of falsity. Others also shun it who have grown too comfortable in their love of freedom. These cringe and cower for fear of losing that which they have already lost. There can be no compromise with falsity, for such an attempt itself results in falsity. Fools do not recognize the truth. Cowards may see it, but think they can bend it, barter in it, buy it on the market like stocks and bonds, paying for it with the blood of millions.
Can it be that the last true individuals will die in neglect, their warnings ignored, like prophets who bring ill tidings to the drunken banquet hall? How much more must the skies lower before the storm can be seen? And will there still be time left, and honest persons enough, or will we all acquiesce to the final darkness? The time is now, for courage, and truth, and honest men.
Peter Homel
