The Cage Essay

The Cage

"If we forget the past, it could happen again. We must learn from those horrors. We must learn what happens when people remain silent while others are persecuted. We must learn, my child, not to ignore the ugly sings, the danger signs, as my family-as the people of my generation -did." This quote from the book "The Cage" has a very strong meaning and is relevant not only in reference to the Jews in World War II, but can also be related to almost any type of injustice, many of which are in the world today. It means just what the first line said, "If we forget the past, it could happen again." That's why we study history: so that we don't make the same mistakes twice. It means that it is just as sinful to ignore a known wrong and let it occur without doing anything, than it is to actually commit it. Many parts of the world just turned their backs on the war and didn't want any part of it; they just decided to look the other way. This was not totally in vein, but many do believe that something should have been done sooner. Neutral countries didn't have to all of a sudden jump up and wage full attack on Hitler, but they could have tried to do something sooner to keep him from getting so much power and to help stop the killing. Gaining all the power that Germany did, should have been a "danger sign" enough, but "the people of my generation" did ignore it for a long time. Too long. Countless lives were lost and the homes, bodies, and spirits of millions were crushed with one giant swing here and bit by bit there. We do need to learn from our mistakes, even if only for the purpose of avoiding such a tragic disaster like this one.