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Movie Clip: Hitler's Prejudice

How many of you have seen ?Schindler?s List?? This award-winning movie gripped people?s hearts, probably as no other before or since, about the atrocities of Hitler?s Third Reich. Of all the heart-wrenching scenes from the movie, the one that haunts me the most is where the Nazi?s decided to rid themselves of the burden of the Jewish children at the labor camp. They lured the children onto trucks with candy and perhaps promises of a special outing. As the trucks began to leave, some parents discovered the plot and screamed helplessly as they watched their children disappear from their lives Revisionist historians have to ignore tons of eyewitness testimony to deny this kind of stuff happened. The Third Reich kept meticulous records, and even filmed much of the torture and killing. Feel with me just a moment. The children and parents you saw were actors. But they represent millions who died in the death camps. You can?t really despise prejudice till you realize that those children had real parents and grandparents who cried in joy at their births. Parents who rocked them to sleep at night and held them close when they were frightened. Moms who excitedly recorded on calendars their child?s first step and first word. Dad?s who taught their sons to ride bikes and took them fishing on holidays. All heartlessly murdered because of people who never dealt with their prejudiced hearts. As for Hitler, the torture and destruction of Jews was not just a terrible necessity to develop a better society. His mind became so twisted that he enjoyed the suffering. He ordered his men to film the killings so that he could view them personally. He probably watched with popcorn and coke. As a young student, Hitler was probably a lot like you. He ran in the fields with his friends, played games, and even at one time dreamed of becoming a priest. If anyone had suggested to him that he would one day murder millions of people, he probably would have laughed out loud at the joke. But he never came before God to ask Him to forgive and heal his prejudices. Instead, he nurtured them until the rage burned within. And if we don?t deal with the prejudices in our own hearts, we have no idea how twisted our minds can become. ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Biehls Forgive

In South Africa, four black students attended a radical political rally that condemned all white people as their enemies. After all, whites had taken their land, oppressed them and taken away their rights for years. The rally referred to all whites as ?settlers?and cried, ?One settler, one bullet.? That evening the four students spotted a young white girl named Amy Biehl who was driving some black students home in their township. Someone threw a brick through her windshield. She tried to run, but the students caught her, beat her with stones, and stabbed her until she died. The irony of this hate crime was that if they had only known her, they would have loved her. Little did they know that Amy?s life was dedicated to fighting for their cause. You see, Amy Biehl was an American exchange student who was inspired as a high school student by the imprisoned black South African leader Nelson Mandela. She never lost the vision of helping South African blacks. At the bottom of her letters she would write, ?FREE MANDELA!? She wrote ?FREE MANDALA!? on her graduation cap for all attending Stanford University?s graduation to see. A Fulbright scholarship allowed her to study in South Africa, befriend blacks, and organize voter education in black communities to ready them for the upcoming free elections. Those who knew her loved her. She was funny, outgoing, and friendly. She had about completed her work and was ready to leave the country in two days. But her dreams were cut short by four of the very people she had dedicated her life to help. They killed one of the best friends they could have ever had. She came to fight racism, but died for the color of her skin. Her attackers never took the time to find out who lived inside of that white skin. And beyond killing her, they also killed something inside those who loved her: her many black and white friends, her mom, dad, brother, sister, and a boyfriend who was ready to propose to her when she returned home. (Sources: Dave Dorr; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff, IN THE STEPS OF A SLAIN SCHOLAR. , St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 09-09-1997, pp 03D; DON KLADSTRUP, DIANE SAWYER, INSIDE THE STRUGGLE. , ABC Turning Point, 08-07-1997.)But the story doesn?t end at her death. Her parents, Peter and Linda, could have carried on the chain of racism by seething with hatred for the blacks who killed their daughter. Instead, they did the unthinkable. They forgave the killers. They visited the killers? parents, identified with their pain, and hugged them. And they refused to get bitter when the killers were released after only four years. Rather, they went beyond forgiveness to set up a foundation in South Africa that continues their daughter?s work in the very area where she was murdered. They spend more time there than in America these days. They train students to bake bread and help them set up their own businesses. They provide art, music and welding classes as well as tutorials for students wanting to get into college. Thousands of lives are being touched. Why? Because Peter and Linda Biehl stopped the chain. They were willing to forgive. According to Peter, ?It?s liberating to forgive. We can sleep at night and we can feel totally at ease. You can?t do that if you?re harboring hate or anger?.? Of their work in South Africa he says, ?It just absolutely sets me free.? (Sources: 1. Andrew M. Greeley, Commentary // Parents of Amy Biehl find `it's liberating to forgive'. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 08-16-1997, pp 07B. 2. Amy's Story, CBS ( 60 Minutes (CBS) ) Lesley Stahl; 01-18-1999) Do you need to be set free? The choice is in your hands. Do you want to live in bondage to your anger and prejudices? Or, do you want to be set free? Jesus set the pace by forgiving those who tortured Him to death on the cross. Will you follow His example? Come on. Break the chain. ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Newton's Prejudice

Have you heard of John Newton? He?s a great example of a person who believed a lie and got really messed up. He grew up in 18th century England and went to sea with his father after his 11th birthday. Although his mom had taught him to believe the Bible, at age 16 he read a book that convinced him he should follow his own heart and mind instead. He decided that God didn?t exist, truth was only opinion, and that morally he could do what he wanted to. As a result, he became an obnoxious person who respected no one and took every opportunity to try to turn people from God. He even enjoyed inventing new ways to blaspheme God. This despicable fellow made his living in the slave trade, purchasing slaves in Africa and selling them for a profit. They would chain the slaves below and many would die on the voyage. Women slaves were raped. If they tried to escape, the were punished with painful thumb screws. But one day at sea his ship got caught in a major storm and began to fall apart. When it looked like all hope was gone, he realized in horror that he really wasn?t sure that God didn?t exist and didn?t know for sure that the Bible wasn?t true. And he knew that if he were to die and stand before the God he had been ridiculing, he was in major trouble. So, he called out to God, survived the storm, and began to seriously seek God. Soon Newton trusted Jesus with his salvation and eventually became a preacher. He wrote a song that is one of the most popular hymns ever written: ?Amazing Grace.? (Remember the words? ?Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I?m found, was blind but now I see.?) Some of you may have heard John Newton?s story before. But what you probably never heard was that, amazingly, for six years as a born again believer, he continued working as a slave trader! It never occurred to him that anything was wrong with it! Newton?s problem was that the sailors he hung around weren?t known for their preaching and Bible memorization skills. Until He got hooked up with some strong teaching and some vibrant Christians, his growth was stunted. As Newton finally got under the teaching of some strong men of God, he began to see slavery through God?s eyes and became one of the key people to stop the British slave trade. [Source on Newton: Amazing Grace, The Dramatic Life Story of John Newton, by John Pollock (Harper and Row, 1981) A truly riveting biography!](worded by Steve Miller) The point? To overcome prejudice, you must not only be born again, but you must seek out strong believers and begin to grow in your faith. ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Died Because Refused to Forgive

One white man experienced abuse by blacks while he was in prison. He could have forgiven the men and gone on to live a normal life. But he allowed the hate to grow, joined a white supremacy organization, and now faces execution for dragging a black man to his death. His lack of forgiveness destroyed him. Harris and Klebold could have forgiven the jocks who intimidated them at Columbine High School. Instead, they let their hatred grow, planning for over a year the massacre that killed 12 students and a teacher. And in the end, they destroyed themselves as well. ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Bus Driver Tries to Solve Racism

I heard of a bus driver who tried to solve the fighting between his white and aborigines students. One day, far out in the country, he stopped the bus and asked the white boys, ?What color are you?? They answered, ?White.? ?No,? corrected the driver. ?You are green. Anyone who rides this bus is green.? After all the white boys understood they were green, he went to the aborigines and asked what color they were. ?Black,? they responded. ?No, you are green,? he corrected. ?Anyone who rides my bus is green.? So all the aborigines answered that they were green. All went well for several miles until he heard a voice from the back of the bus saying, ?All right, light green on this side; dark green on that side.? ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Gates on Nerds

In a speech to a high school, Bill Gates dished out 11 things that youth don't learn in school (see the rest under "Work Ethic" category). Here is rule #11 - RULE 11 Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Prejudice Costs Harvard Millions

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband dressed in a homespun,threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the President of Harvard University's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the President," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied. For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. The secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the President, even though it was a chore she always regretted. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have time to spend with the couple, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The President of Harvard, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The woman told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him somewhere on campus." The President of Harvard University wasn't touched. He was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh no," the lady quickly explained. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard." The President rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit then exclaimed "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. This pleased the President as he was finally going to get rid of this irritating couple. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The President's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away and traveled to Palo Alto, California. They established the University that bears their name, Stanford University, as a memorial to their son, the son that Harvard no longer cared about. (came over internet, haven't verified)

On Loving the White Man

My parents would always tell me that I should not hate the white man, but that it was my duty as a Christian to love him. An Autobiography of Religious Development (Martin Luther King, Jr., Nov. 1950 essay)

The Isley Brothers and Elton John

In the early days of Rock, the popular Isley Brothers band toured Europe with a young keyboard player who wanted them to listen to the briefcase of songs he'd written. But they never did. They said, "We figured this guy with the big glasses, how could he write something that would be funky enough for us?" Now he regrets missing out on all those great songs. The keyboardist was perennial best-selling singer/songwriter Elton John. (Written by Steve Miller. Source: Kot, Greg, ?How the Isley Brothers became ? and stayed ? the first family of R & B? Chicago Tribune, November 4, 2001, Sec. 7, p. 1.) This illustrates that we must be humble enough to respect and learn from those we consider "beneath us."

Drew Barrymore Masks Her Pain

You'd think that Drew Barrymore had it all. Her acting success began by appearing on TV before her first birthday, then again at ages 2 and 4. She hit stardom at age 7 playing the little girl in Spielberg's smash hit, E.T. At 7 years old, she was the youngest person to ever host Saturday Night Live. You'd think she was living every child's dream. She had talent. She was famous. Yet, her life proves that outward success doesn't bring inner contentment or a healthy self image. Inside, the little star was hurting. You see, her dad always put her down and split with her mom when she was young. Her dysfunctional mom carried her around from club to club - not the greatest atmosphere for a child. Instead of seeing herself as a person of great worth created in the image of her creator, she developed a self image based on her lack of acceptance by her father and the put downs of people at school. One of her teachers hurt her deeply. In her own words, ?There was trouble every day, but on one day in particular, when I didn?t do an in-class assignment properly, the teacher called me on it. He didn?t just tell me I did it incorrectly. He didn?t even criticize me. No. Instead, in front of the entire class, he told me that I was stupid. Stupid! And that I wasn?t ever going to amount to anything." ?I think you?re headed toward failure, young lady,? he said in front of everybody. ?And I don?t think there?s anything I can do to help.? "I wanted to crawl inside myself and die. But there was no escape. I vowed not to show any emotion though. I sat there, stone-faced, crying on the inside and completely humiliated. Why that teacher seemed bent on destroying me is beyond my comprehension.? The words of the insensitive teacher were reinforced by a group of cruel students who delighted in tormenting her. They hit her with books and called her names, like pig, fatso, or saying her nose looked like Porky Pig's. She countered by trying like everything to fit in. So one day she got these surfer shorts with a spaceman design that she thought everyone would like. Instead, they burst out laughing when she walked into class, calling her a "cosmic cow." With low self-esteem as a gift from her dad, she couldn't stand up for herself or even convince herself that the boys were just jerks. She believed their cutting words. In her own words, "I just took their cutting remarks until, eventually, I let them completely undermine everything I knew to be true.? (p. 99) She ended up "feeling like the lowliest, homeliest, and dumbest creature at the place." (p. 124) Let's reflect for a minute on what happened to Drew's picture of herself. Although she had a gift for acting and achieved fame by age 7, she believed people's cutting remarks to the point that she felt totally worthless. With the people around her as her only mirror to see herself, she felt dumb and ugly. Was her impression right? Not at all. Ironically, this little girl who saw herself as a worthless failure, a "cosmic cow," "pig" and "fatso" would later be chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. This girl that the teacher called "stupid" and "headed for failure" would be paid $26 million to star in the movies "Ever After" and both "Charlies' Angels" movies. How did flawed self-image affect her? First, she turned to drugs and alcohol to try to escape her pain rather than deal with it. (p. 124) By age 8 she was smoking cigarettes and had her first drink at age 9. By age 10 she had progressed to smoking marijuana and by 12 she was killing herself by combining massive amounts of alcohol with cocaine. At the age of 13 she was committed to a rehab facility by her mother. (p. 5) What can we learn from Drew? First, remember that your view of yourself may have nothing to do with how you really are. If you think of yourself as an insignificant failure that the world would be better off without, you've internalized a lie. Your Father's the creator of the universe, and He doesn't make any junk. Secondly, don't numb the pain with drugs or drinking. According to Drew, ?The higher I got, the happier I imagined myself, the more miserable I actually was.? (p. 10) Next time you come down from a high, you've got the same bad self image, now made worse because of the long-term effects. Third, don't tie your self-esteem to your success. She discovered that her "desperate need to perform was feed by a deep-seated insecurity and low self-esteem." It was a desperate way to try to get the love and affirmation she lacked. (p. 6) Meditate on God's Word. Absorb His love toward You. Understand that you're significant, created in His image, not matter what the world dishes out to you. (Written by Steve Miller, Copyright May 6, 2002. Sources: Drew Barrymore with Todd Gold, Little Girl Lost, Pocket Books: New York, 1990; http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Barrymore,+Drew )

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