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It all started out as a perfectly normal day in my freshman year. I had gotten up, a little later than usual, and gotten dressed. I checked my email, ate breakfast, and walked out the door to sit on my step and wait for Libby to pick me up for school.
            “Hey”, she said when I opened the door. “Is it true Aidan has cancer?”
            My heart stopped for a minute. “Umm… I don’t think so,” I said. “I just think he has internal bleeding from that hit in football.”
            This fact was true; that’s what I knew. That Aidan was playing intramural football at Notre Dame and he had a hard hit to the stomach which caused him to bleed internally. No one had told me differently.
            School was normal that day. I sat through morning classes, half asleep and half paying attention. When the bell rings to signal the start of fives, I rushed out of yearbook and down to the cafeteria. During lunch, I ate like normal, and socialized about the weekend with my friends. I mentioned Aidan, and how he had internal bleeding, but I didn’t mention the cancer part, because I honestly forgot about it. My friends all said they’ll pray for them, and that he has their best wishes.
            After afternoon classes, it’s an unusual day, because I didn’t have soccer practice, and I got to go home. My dad was home when I get to my house. I don’t think twice about this, since it was Monday and he gets home early on Mondays. I said hi to him and Caroline, my little sister. I went up to the study, turned on the computer and AIM, put up an away message, and started my homework.
            This was when I realize something weird was going on. My older sister, who’s off at Vanderbilt for college, IMed me.
            “Hey, what’s up?” She said.
            I quickly typed back, “Nothing but homework. How’s Aidan, and how are you?”
            “He’s gonna be okay.” She responded. “Vickie, what all has Mom told you?”
            “Just that he has internal bleeding. Why?”
            “Oh. Go talk to mom.”
            This struck me as very awkward, as usually Liz is open with me, and wouldn’t leave me hanging like this. I suddenly realized that my mom isn’t home, so I can’t go ask her why my sister has become withdrawn.
            As I was pondering this, my dad walked in, and sat down on the extra chair. He looked very solemn, and this worried me. What is wrong with my family? I thought to myself.
            “Vickie, I need to talk to you,” My dad said.
            “Okay,” I said, turning around to face him.
            Dad took a deep breath. After what seems like an eternity, he began to speak. “Aidan has cancer,” he stated.
            Whoa. Did he really just say that? Oh my God. Oh my God. OH MY GOD. I couldn’t breathe for a second. I thought I might collapse from all the different things running through my mind. My thoughts returned to earlier in the day, and Libby asking me the same thing.
            “What kind?” I heard my shaky voice ask.
            “Testicular. He’s coming home to Indy to go through chemotherapy. He’s going to miss a whole semester of school.”
            “Okay,” I said. “Thanks for telling me, Dad.”
            He nodded, and left the study. As soon as I heard him going down the stairs, I burst out in tears. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to digest this huge fact my dad has just told me. Aidan can’t have cancer, I kept telling myself. He’s nineteen. He’s “perfect”. And oh my God, what about Liz?
            It might seem weird to call him perfect, but it seems to fit him. He and my sister met in 2005 when they were in AP Biology together. They went on Kairos together, he asked her to prom that year, and the rest evolved from there. They have been together since that April, and though they’ve had issues, you can tell how much they love each other. He graduated from Brebeuf in 2005, and attended University of Notre Dame the next fall. While at Brebeuf, he was quarterback of the football team, and pitcher for the baseball team. He was well known at Brebeuf, and in the city of Indianapolis. It’s hard to talk to someone that knows of Brebeuf without hearing about how “Wonderful” Aidan is. With this in mind, my family dubbed him “Wonder Boy”. He worked for the mayor this past summer. On top of this all, he (mostly) treats people kindly and helps out as much as possible.
            Oh my God, I started thinking again. What if he dies?
I was still shaking from this thought as I turned back to the computer. I wanted so badly to talk my sister, to know how she felt and to comfort her. This was a little difficult, considering she was in Nashville, at Vanderbilt. Because of this, the computer was my only way to communicate with her. Either that, or call her cell phone, but she never picks it up. I decided to leave her a message on AIM.
            “I just talked to Dad. Liz, how could you not have told me?”
            And all I get to this is a simple response that was her away message: “Breathe, just breathe.”
            Seems fitting to me, I thought. We all need to just breathe.
            I tried to calm down; I really did, but to no avail. My thoughts kept flickering back to one thing: Aidan has cancer. It seemed like too big of a concept for my fifteen year old self to grasp. It was not something that you hear everyday- that a good friend of yours has a deadly sickness.
As I sat there in shock, sobbing, my sister IM’s me.
            “Vickie,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Mom wanted to.”
            “I forgive you. How is he, Liz? Really?”

“He’s gonna be okay. He has to miss school to do chemo, and it’s gonna be painful, but he’ll be okay. He has a 98% chance of surviving.”

This made me feel slightly better. A 98% chance of survival was pretty incredible, but I couldn’t help thinking that as long as there was that 2% left.

No, I told myself. No more assuming the worst. I need to hope for the best. He’s not going to get better by me worrying that he’s gonna die.

I heard the garage down sound, and that meant one thing- Mom was home. I put up an away message on my buddy list that said Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it, and I rushed downstairs to greet my mom. To talk to her about this.
            “Mom!” I cried.
            She noticed my red eyes, my mascara-streaked face. “Did Dad tell you?” she asked.
            “Yeah, he did.” The tears started flowing again.

My mom set her things down and came over to hug me. We stood there, in shock, in disbelief. And suddenly… I was saying things I shouldn’t have. I accused my mom of wishing this on him because of what he did to Liz over the summer.

After these words leave my mouth, I can’t believe I said them. I shouldn’t have treated my mom like this. She didn’t deserve this. She turned away from me hurt. I tried to apologize, but I couldn’t get out the words. I felt myself turn around and walk back up the stairs, back to the computer, back to the place where I can express myself.

Dinner was interesting. My little sister, Caroline, didn’t know about Aidan’s disease. She was nine years old, and I was not sure how my parents are going to tell her. Somehow, Aidan was brought up in a conversation, and my parents told her, very gently, that Aidan has testicular cancer, and that he has to do chemotherapy.

My little sister started crying, and it hurt me to see this. She was a very caring person, and she worried about things, a lot more then normal kids her age. I started crying too, and as hard as I tried to stop, I couldn’t.

After dinner, I cleared the table, and washed the dishes. My mom walked into the kitchen, and I walked over to her, hugged her, and apologized for what I said to her. She hugged me back, and reminded me to think before I say things.

I walked back to the computer room, and found that I have many messages on my away message. They were all from friends, asking what happened, and I typed, about 10 times, that Aidan has cancer. Seeing it on the computer screen made it seem so much more real to me. They all responded back with things like… Oh my God… or… What kind? I patiently answered their questions, knowing that they care, and that they’ll stay by me in this rough time.

I heard footsteps, and turned to see my mom walk into the room. She told me that Aidan is on his way over, and that he wanted to talk to us, to see us. Just then the doorbell rang, and it’s him. He looked completely normal, and had I not known, I would have never guessed he has cancer. I didn’t think I’ve ever been so glad to see him in my life. I hugged him, and I almost started crying again. Caroline came downstairs and hugged him too, and we all walked into the family room to watch Deal Or No Deal.

At Caroline’s bedtime, after she is upstairs, my parents started asking Aidan the serious questions. I was curious, so I remained the room, until my parents told me to go upstairs. I did, angrily, but first I gave Aidan a hug goodbye.

On my away message, I saw that my sister has left me a message. It said, “Vickie, I need you to take care of him for me, because I can’t be in Indy. Tell him that I love him.”

I heard my parents and Aidan walking towards the front hallway, and I rushed downstairs to tell Aidan that Liz loves him. He nodded, and then he left. My parents walked back into the family room, and I turned back up the stairs. I let Liz know I got her message. I said goodnight to all my friends, and then I said goodnight to Liz, and let her know that I’ll take care of him.

As I got ready for bed, my mind wandered back to Aidan. A seemingly perfectly healthy young man. I couldn’t help but think that this was what makes cancer so scary- if they haven’t lost their hair from chemotherapy, you would never be able to tell. This thought scared me, but it motivated me. It made me want to do more to help cancer victims. It made me want to help someone live.

some funny ones:

FOOOOTBALLLLLLLLL!!!

one of my favorite parts of the year is when the pro football season starts again. i absolutely love football and the NFL.

now, the season doesnt start for another month, but..

today the preseason officially started.

=) which means that the rest isnt far away.

traveling is great and all, but sometimes the best thing in the world is sleeping in your own bed.

ive learned a lot this summer, which is good. im sure it would at least make my parents happy.

japan was absolutely spectactular, and i made some awesome friends. i even ate some cool food. (and with a gluten allergy, thats hard to do). i stayed with a family who spoke no english, and a person that doesnt like strangers, the experience was incredible. i met the sweetest people on earth. leaving was sad.

less than 3 weeks after coming home from asia, my family went to vancouver and alaska for a conference/cruise. canada is actually an amazing country. i know many people overlook it because its just.. north. but its beautiful and the people are so friendly.

the cruise was.. wow. alaska is a whole kind of place. it’s in its own category. i love it there. maybe it’s because it’s so different than home. we dont have mountains here. we dont have a beach. we dont have bald eagles and whales and moose in the wild. alaska seems like its own country. its hard to believe that some place so different from indiana is a part of the same country. i went to the beach and in the next 5 minutes could climb a mountain. it was amazing.

that being said, living in a hotel can be hard.

and my family, as much as i love them, is hard to deal with when youre in close quarters twenty-four/seven.

i absolutely hate flying. i wish i didnt have to do it, but thats the way you get places.

so after getting into indy at 1:15 this morning, then waiting for luggage, then taking a taxi home, i collasped in my bed at 2 am and called my best friends.

i didnt get more than 2 hours of sleep, but that didnt matter. i was just so glad to be home.

so less than 3 weeks after being in japan, i am now in vancouver, canada.

then my family’s going on an alaskan cruise.

so when i get back from that, i will definitely post about my trips!

=)

I’m going to Japan for 13 days!!

details when i get back!

so i just realized its been a month since ive posted anything.

i was going to remedy that by posting a song, but youtube is down =( realllly sad panda.

jessicarr feels me pain

technology still hates me.

=p

i promise a more meaningful post later.. im going to cincy this weekend and im sure ill have some story to talk about.

i found the following on a website. it made me think. and if you stop to read it, it might make you think, too.

There are times when we are timid and shy about expressing the love we feel. For fear of embarrassing the other person, or ourselves, we hesitate to say the actual words “I love you.” So we try to communicate the idea in other words.

We say ‘take care’ or ‘don’t drive too fast’ or ‘be good.’ But really, these are just other ways of saying ‘I love you,’ ‘you are important to me,’ ‘I care what happens to you,’ ‘I don’t want you to get hurt.’

We are sometimes very strange people. The only thing we want to say, and the one thing that we should say, is the one thing we don’t say. And yet, because the feeling is so real, and the need to say it is so strong, we are driven to use other words and signs to say what we really mean. And many times the meaning never gets communicated at all and the other person is left feeling unloved and unwanted.

Therefore, we have to LISTEN FOR LOVE in the words that people are saying to us. Sometimes the explicit words are necessary, but more often, the manner of saying things is even more important. A joyous insult carries more affection and love within the sentiments which are expressed insincerely.

An impulsive hug says I LOVE YOU even though the words might be saying very different.

Any expression of a person’s concern for another says I love you. Sometimes the expression is clumsy, sometimes even cruel. Sometimes we must look and listen very intently for the love that contains. But it is often there, beneath the surface.

A mother may nag her son constantly about his grades or cleaning his room. The son may hear only the nagging, but if he listens carefully, he will hear the love underneath the nagging. His mother wants him to do well, to be successful. Her concern and love for her son unfortunately emerge in her nagging. But it is love all the same.

A daughter comes home way past her curfew, and her father confronts her with angry words. The daughter may hear only the anger, but if she listen carefully, she will hear the love under the anger. “I was worried about you,” the father is saying. ‘Because I care about you and I love you. You are important to me.’

We say I love you in many ways – with birthday gifts, and little notes, with smiles and sometimes with tears. Sometimes we show our love by just keeping quiet and not saying a word, at other times by speaking out, even brusquely. We show our love sometimes by impulsiveness. Many times we have to show our love by forgiving someone who has not listened to the love we have tried to express.

The problem in listening for love is that we don’t always understand the language of love which the other person is using. A girl may use tears or emotions to say what she wants to say, and her boyfriend may not understand her because he expects her to be talking his language. Thus, we have to force ourselves to really listen for love.

The problem with our world is that people rarely listen to each other. They hear the words, but they don’t listen to the actions that accompany the words or the expression on the face. Or people listen only for rejection or misunderstanding. They do not see the love that is there just beneath the surface, even if the words are angry. We have to listen for love in those around us.

If we listen intently we will discover that we are a lot more loved than we realize. Listen for love and we will find that the world is a very loving place, after all.
LOVE is a happy thing.
It makes us laugh.
It makes us sing.
It makes us sad.
It makes us cry.
It makes us seek the reason why.
It makes us take.
It makes us give.
Above all else it makes us LIVE.
It is not the presence or absence of people that makes the difference because a person need not be lonely even if he is alone. Sometimes it is good to be alone. But that does not make us lonely. It is not a matter of being present WITH someone. It is a matter of being present TO someone.

So remember…If you love someone, tell them. Remember always to say what you mean. Never be afraid to express yourself. Take this opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you. Seize the day and have no regrets.

Most importantly, stay close to your friends and family, for they have helped make you the person that you are today and are what it’s all about anyway.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

first off, this was a ridiculously fun activity. i wish more teachers did fun things like we do in english, because school would be so much better that way. =)

i thought about making a list of which medicines i wanted/needed, but instead decided to take what i could find. danny and i sat down and tried to crack all the clues before hand, so that we would have some idea of where each medicine was. the perfectionist in me wanted all of them, because i think all of them could help me better myself. however…

in the end, i found 10 of the 15, and i knew where all but one of the 15 were.

i ended up with:

courage: Courage is always something i could use more of. i’m a naturally shy person around large groups of people, or people that i dont know. courage is something that i think everyone has but not everyone uses. it’s in us all as potential, but some people are, well, too scared to use it. i was kind of confused at first as to why a crayon was the symbol. the hiding place was obvious- it was in the speech room, where courage is grading and perfected. however, i think that a crayon is symbolic in a couple of ways. one- it’s a symbol of a writing utensil… hey, its probably the smallest one that could fit in the bags. writing takes courage, because there is always a risk of putting yourself out there for everyone else to see. two- the crayons were all different colors, and you could choose the one you liked the best. again, this involves risk because you can often get picked on for your choices, and courage is required to make those choices anyway.

compassion: Compassion was hidden in the religious studies office. When we went in to find it, the religion teachers made us go on a quest, saying that it was hidden in the figure of the major religion that embodies compassion. now, this confused me, because i thought that all religions teach compassion in one way or the other. eventually, we found the hands in the Buddha. the hand is kind of obvious as a sign for compassion- “helping hands” are a universial symbol of compassion, because it requires love, strength, and willingness to be compassionate. compassion is something that anyone could use more of, because i think the world would be a better place if everyone cared a little more about everyone else.

humor: Humor has always been important to me. even when i have had the worse of days, laughter has made me forget everything, if even for a minute, and given me a break. when i learned that senora jackmas had humor, i wasn’t really surprised. she’s definately hilarious. humor came in the form of a smiley face, and mine has sunglasses on (yay spring break is soon!). humor is something that is necessary to have in order to get through life. there are times when everyone needs to let go of stress, and laughter is a great way to do that. sometimes, the best way to take life is with a sense of humor, and when the times get hard, sometimes the only thing left to do is to laugh. i know that alot of people don’t always understand my sense of humor, but it definately helps me!

joy: Joy is sometimes lost in life because of the current high levels of stress that seems universal these days. joy was in the community service office, because for anyone who has completed any service, you know the joy and happiness that comes through helping others. joy  was a sucker, because a sucker is something that brings momentary happiness and enjoyment, but at the same time, it can last a long time if you take the time to enjoy it. the same can be said with joy: if you try to conserve it and don’t try to have it all at once, it will last alot longer.

faith: mrs. hawkins had faith, and as i dont know her personally, i can’t really comment as to why she was the keeper of faith. however, i can say a lot about the symbol that was faith: a star. recently, the star has become a symbol of faith for me personally. this year has been pretty hard, and it seems like i have lost a lot. however, i have always had an interest in stars, and when i see one, i smile. it’s because a thing, that when i see a star, i smile, remember the good things i have in my life, and know that everything will be okay. i think that stars can symbolize people’s faith in a very real way. some people’s faith is much stronger than others- some stars are a lot brighter. some stars are bigger from our perspective, while some are smaller. however, that is just from our perspective, which reminds us that we are not the judge of each other’s faith. finally, stars are like faith because they are not always visible. sometimes they are hidden from the clouds, or by the daytime. however, they are always there. no matter what. when things cover up our faith in life, or when obstacles arise, God is still there, even if you can’t see him or feel him.

patience: oh boy, this i definately needed to add to my bag. i always tell people that i am the least patient person i know. recently, i have learned a little more patience because i have coached little kids.. and that’s hard! anyway, patience was in the admissions office, because it takes a lot of patience to deal with the new arrivals to school- you have to guide them and teach them, and that’s hard! the symbol of this was a spool of thread, which makes a lot of sense. sewing is something that i could never quite do right; i’d get so frustrated threading the needle that i would never actually make it to the needlework. however, i admire those that are actually able to sit for hours and play with that little needle until they create beautiful works of art. patience is a somewhat of a necessity as you get older.

perseverance: first of all, mr brown is an amazing man. i’ve never had a conversation with him before, and after getting the stone from him, i definately wanna go talk to that man some more. anyway, perseverance is the strength to keep going when obstacles are in your way. to a certain extent, perseverance requires a lot of toughness and stubborness; thus, a stone makes sense because it’s a literal rock- something hard to destroy that lasts through disasters in life.

strength: Strength was with Miss McCarthy, who is known for her strength with the infamous gradebook. She’s a strong woman, because she has taught at Brebeuf for so long. Strength takes dedication, and the symbol for this was a bag of sand. to me, this goes with strength really well. whenever i go to a beach, i love to run on the sand. now, this is harder than running on pavement, because sand does not give you the support like concrete, asphult, or even grass. however, it has always been something that is a favorite passtime of mine. once i start running on sand, i want to finish it through to the end. no matter how hard it is to keep going, and no matter how much it hurts my knees because i dont have support, i want to finish.

integrity: integrity was found in campus ministry, which was prefect. the people of campus ministry work extremely hard to make retreats as amazing as they are, and on these retreats, honesty plays a huge role. integrity was a white light bulb, because it is clear. it cannot be faked or distorted- it shows the truth. integrity has often felt disregarded in the world today, because the will to be better than everyone else often prevails. however, just as light is essential to living, integrity is essential to living well and to being the best that you can be.

and finally…

insight: trickily, ms haffley hid this one in her room. under the hero journey sign. i think this is because insight often comes at the end of a journey, when you have time to look back and reflect on what you have experienced. going along with that, a mirror was the symbol of insight. a mirror shows your reflection, and thus it shows the truth. you can’t fake a mirror out, because it will show you have you have seen. the reflection is critical, because it allows the contemplation and insight to occur. as my priest in church today said, “insight comes through truth, and thus it is essential to our growth as people.” (and honestly, when i heard that, i thought, hey, i need to use that in my post! so thanks, padre scott!) honestly though, insight,  while it comes at the end of a journey, often leads to another.

i think i should probably mention that two of my closest friends came with me on this journey. their presence was really helpful, because i’m really shy. friends tend to make the hunt easier, and they did this time. i dont think i could have accomplished as much as i did without them.

i realize that after reading the title, you might think i’m craaaazii (thanks jessica!). however, read the paper. it might make sense. it might not. but hey, it made sense to me.

Obama: the next Hitler?

            On November 4, 2008, the citizens of the United States of America elected Senator Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of this country. In addition to becoming president, Obama reached a political and racial milestone; he was the first African American person to be president. Known for being a charismatic speaker and preaching about change, Obama quickly began a crowd favorite. His ability to appeal to many made him popular. His vision of the future and his outreach to the youth also helped. Parallels can be drawn, however, between the “leader of the free world” and perhaps the most hated man in human history, Adolf Hitler.

            Triumph of the Will was a movie released in 1935 in Germany by Leni Riefenstahl. The movie, which served as propaganda for the Nazi party, covered the Nuremburg Rally of 1934. The movie was made to intimidate the enemies of the Nazi party, and to show the might of Hitler. It does this in full affect. Watching the film, one cannot help but be a little in awe at the grandness of the whole event. The citizens of Nuremburg are literally hanging out of the windows trying to get a glimpse of Hitler. They are dressed in their best clothes, and are performing all kinds of acts to even get a glance from him. Clearly, the people deeply admire their ruler and want to please him. They are enticed by everything he does and everything he says. He brings a grand message; one of hope and change for the future.

            As the film progresses, there are numerous activities held in Hitler’s honor. Parades consisting of a lot of marching and a ton of people are shown throughout the majority of the movie. Thousands of people have come to town to rally for their leader. Hitler inspires a great need to accomplish among the people of Germany. He makes numerous speeches about the future of Germany; listening to them, one cannot help being drawn in. If one did not know about the horrors that he would soon put into action, you would think that this man is a special and amazing leader. He constantly speaks to the youth; he views them as the future. Hitler tells them that pride in their country and loyalty will go a long way. Hitler’s Youth, the group of children that are for him, are ecstatic to be in his presence. They cheer and stomp their feet and sing because they are around the man who will lead them into greatness.

             Watching the film, several thoughts occurred in my brain. I was shocked to see how the multitude of popularity that Hitler had. Because I have only ever learned about him post-Holocaust, I therefore have only seen the negative reactions of his actions. I had no idea that he was so well liked by the Germans. Another thought that occurred in my head was that this was all real life. This was not some scripted Hollywood film; this movie showed the actual Hitler- Adolf Hitler as a living, breathing, talking individual. It was startling to see him talking to people, and interacting with them. I have never seen him in this light before. The final big thought that occurred to me was “wow, this man is kind of similar to Barack Obama.”

            At first, I was alarmed by this thought. How could the president of the United States, my country, who stands for freedom and equality, be similar to the man who orchestrated over eleven million deaths? How can Obama have anything in common with the man that is hated by everyone in the world? What am I thinking?

            After the movie we had our in class discussion, and Mr. Oliver mentioned that if Hitler had been assassinated before the Holocaust, he would have been seen as a great leader, as probably one of the best in the twentieth century. His people loved him, he was popular, and he had plans for Germany. I thought about this and connected it to the thought of Hitler and Obama being similar. Because he has only been in office for two months, it is too soon to tell what kind of president Obama will be. However, at the present time, he has a seventy percent approval rating and is generally well thought of throughout the world. When you really stop to consider these two men, the similarities are hard to ignore.

            Both men were very popular in their respective countries, and both gathered enormous public support. Both were skilled public speakers who kept their crowd captivated and interested. Both demanded respect and trust from their followers, and they both got it. Obama and Hitler both had numerous rallies held all over their respective countries, and both held them in stadiums. They realized that the key to achieving their goals was the youth, and so both recruited youth heavily. They also share other things, like mixed heritage. Obama is an Arab American as well as an African American, but has never really mentioned this. He relies on the black part of his heritage and does not acknowledge the other side. Hitler, who hated the Jews, was actually part Jewish himself. He, however, hid his Jewish roots from everyone.

            Obama is a most definitely a liberal, but he has also been a socialist because of his ties to Marxists- “His father was a communist. His mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was a communist. Obama explicitly admits to seeking out Marxist professors in his autobiographical work and attending socialist meetings. His close friends, like Bill Ayers the former terrorist, leadership at Trinity, all hold distinctly socialist/Marxist views” (Shelm). Hitler was obviously a socialist, because the party he belonged to was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. However, he could also been seen as a liberal, because he “was a vegetarian, pro-abortion, an advocate for strict gun control, desirous of universal health care, and continually extolling the virtues of state control” (Shelm).

Perhaps another connection that these two leaders have in common is the state of the nation when they each were put into power. Consider the following, and see if you can distinguish between the two men:

“The nation was in shambles. A previous ruler had led the country into an unnecessary war, the economy was failing, and a sense of depression filled the air. Then, a new leader emerged. He was a powerful speaker, offering hope, change, and a fix to the economy. He wrote two books about his experiences and used his literary work to propel him to success. He was an open Christian with some Muslim friends. He called for unity and considered himself an advocate of peace. Some of his political opponents cast him as naive and inexperienced. He also had a lot of radical ties, but the media, and ultimately the voters, were willing to overlook that” (Shelm).

When I first read this paragraph, I could not see which leader it was. Supposedly it’s Hitler, but it could as easily be Obama as well. The similarities are all there: the call for hope and change, the charismatic leader, the need for peace, the call of the youth, and the label of “inexperienced”. The two men have more in common than at first glance, and this is obvious in Triumph of the Will. The movie shows the public’s opinion of their leader as a great man; one who is admired and inspiring. Although people may be horrified by this, I think that Mr. Oliver was correct in saying that if Hitler had been killed before the Holocaust, he would have been seen as a martyr, a tragic loss, and one of the best leaders in the twentieth century. I think that if Triumph of the Will’s intent was to show Hitler’s power, strength, charisma, and adoration of the public, it succeeded.

              However, the Holocaust followed Triumph, and people will never be able to see Hitler as a great leader. I think that it is important that Triumph of the Will is watched, because viewing it allows you to realize the great awe the Germans had of their leader. It makes it a tad bit easier to understand why they followed him so blindly into killing all those people. I am not suggesting that President Obama will become the next Hitler; however, I think that the similarities between our President and Adolf Hitler cannot be ignored or denied.