change is not death
fear of change is death Tonight at a meeting there was vigorous argument against making a change that would make our efforts to serve the poor more effective. The person arguing against the change kept saying this is what “they said” we should do or this is what “they want us to do.” I finally asked him who “they” were. It turns out to be a central office that had just told some of us that we had the power to make the change and that our organization was “bottom up” one, where we the people make the change not the central office.
In the hierarchical Catholic Church, which I belong to, and in many of its organization people wait for the Pope, Bishop or Pastor to tell them what they do. When they fail to do so, preach the Gospel of priority of service to people in need, many of the people follow the leaders or leave the Church.
All this blind following of the ‘powers that be” is scary and reminds me of the times in Germany before and doing World War II. As my friend Gordon Zahn pointed out in his book German Catholics and Hitler’s Wars, priest and Catholic leaders did not like Hitler but told their people it was their religious duty to fight in the Germany Army. Although it is not good to compare Germany with the United States there are quotes below of German Nazi leaders that haunt us and sound like they were written about our times.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
(Joseph Goebbels,German Minister of Propaganda, 1933–1945)
Göring: Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.
Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.
Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
(An interview with Hermann Goring founder of the Gestapo, Head of the Luftwaffe in prison after World War II)
Again I am not trying to make a comparison between the USA and Nazi Germany or about my experience tonight. However, today we must resist believing something said over and over again is true and to resist fear of being attacked and be denounced for lack of loyalty to leaders or patriotism. Simply said we must not have fear of change.
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