The trip to D.C. this past weekend was beyond fantastic—with such an interesting spread of speakers, great conversations, beautiful accommodations, and delicious food. As someone that’s deeply interested in politics and democracy, this trip was particularly relevant.
One of the interesting ideas and threads that I kept coming back to throughout the trip was how impactful an individual’s identity can be in the decisions they make about their politics. Identity is a complex thing and it can manifest in infinitely different ways. Dr. Damien Thomas, the curator of the sports section at the NAAMHC discussed the rich role of sports history and how it’s been impactful in American politics, in a way because it’s a manifestation of identity. Identity can also be expressed via the political candidate one chooses to support, the ways in which an individual dresses, and the music and art they chose to consume. Understanding how identity can influence all of these factors is very important in having a functioning democracy and being able to change one’s fellow citizen’s thoughts on a important issues. Visiting the Holocaust Museum was a very special experience for me, because it was the first time I had ever been there and I was deeply moved by the structure and content of the museum. Identity and manipulation of identity played a huge role in allowing such horrid and abhorrent events to precipitate. Hitler was able to influence vulnerable people in the Weimar Republic to believe that their problems were the fault of a specific ethnic group. The manipulation was individual and collective; both of the German people that stood by and perpetrated such events and the Jewish individuals and other minorities that were the victims of these violent acts and character attacks.
Another point that I focused on a lot this weekend how the strength and integrity of our democratic institutions hinges almost entirely on the people that make them up. Our institutions, our government, our places of worship, and our clubs our reflections of the individuals that make them up and the collective values that the people hold. At the core, all institutions and groups are made up of a people and are just a larger expression of shared values of these people. The representative nature can be more explicit in a democracy because of the ways in which leaders are selected. Democracy and civic engagement are some of my favorite topics to study and think about so thoroughly enjoyed the trip and felt like I learned so much!
Hey Tessa,
Hope you had a good break! As you know we always have pretty diverging viewpoints on things but I find what you write here highly interesting. I agree completely with you about the horrors and how terrifyingly evil Hitler was in his reign, and I contrast what you say about him with what you say about democracy as a whole. As you said, democracy only exists as long as those beneath it believe in it, which is exactly how Hitler ran his regime. In hindsight, the inhumane acts he committed and convinced others to commit seem unimaginable; yet when the system believes that what they’re doing is right they see no wrong in doing it. Kind of interesting how humans are sheep in a way.
Fred
Tessa, I am glad you enjoyed our trip to D.C.. I too had never been to the Holocaust museum and was deeply moved.
Interesting how you mentioned the structure of the museum! I think architecture plays a huge role in public spaces like these. After my weekend in DC I also reflected on the architecture of the city as a whole–it’s one of the most planned cities in America as it was literally built up from a swamp. Design, especially that of Toole Design Group, plays an almost invisible role in our lives, but it couldn’t impact our lives more.