I believe genocide is caused by the yearning for power in people. Whether it was Hitler wanting to create the "perfect race", or something much smaller and less known, people want to feel in control. To get this feeling, they kill people. They wipe out people that are a threat to them, or they kill the weaker people to instill fear in the stronger people, it all traces back to people wanting to be the strongest and most powerful.
What I don't understand is why people let people like this rise to power. Hitler, for example, wrote a book while he was in prison before he became the leader. In the book, he shared his plans for the holocaust. This book was published, and was read by many, yet they still let him gain full power to the point where he couldn't be easily brought down. How can people know the evils in someone, yet let them gain control?
This is a great question, and one I hope to tackle this year. You may find this story interesting though, because often it's people who are voting for those leaders: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/17/142466439/discovery-of-neo-nazi-crime-spree-roils-germany
ReplyDelete