G is for Genocide; R is for Remembrance.

Exterior of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

The Holocaust is the iconic narrative of man’s inhumanity to man, of unspeakable cruelty to men, women, and children, of horrors multiplied infinitely by the systematic, scientific nature of that state-sponsored genocide.

But we do need to speak of it. This year commemorative events for Holocaust Remembrance Day (“Yom Hashoah”)  are being held on Sunday April 27 and Monday April 28, but genocide, wherever it occurs, and whomever its victims, needs to be confronted daily—as does the hatred, the racism, the othering that can spiral out of control.

A visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is an opportunity for a deeply-moving, challenging, energizing experience any day of the year.

The importance of the museum lies not just in its powerful exhibits, its artifacts, films, and photos, but in the dedication of the museum to educating people around the world concerning genocides—not just the best known Holocaust but also genocides in Bosnia-Herzegovinia, Burma, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, the Sudan and South Sudan, and Syria. Other valuable contributions to the confronting of genocide are its online encyclopedia and its outreach programs—for example, to Rwanda.

If you get to Washington DC, you should visit the museum; also check out Holocaust museums in other cities around the world.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

September 15: International Day of Democracy

Achieving and maintaining democracy—“government of the people, by the people, for the people”[i]–is an ongoing challenge.

Perhaps President Lincoln had no alternative to preserving the Union than to wage war, but the wounds of that deadly conflict can still be felt today.

Where are the models for better ways of resolving disputes, righting wrongs, and pursuing democratic institutions?

Our nomination, in honor of this year’s United Nations International Day of Democracy (Sept. 15), is Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi is the Burmese woman who:

  • founded the National League for Democracy in Burma (now Myanmar),
  • stood up to the military junta controlling the country
  • was under house arrest for 15 years for agitating for democracy
  • rejected the junta’s offer to give her freedom if she would leave the country
  • embraced the non-violent principles of Mohandas K. Gandhi
  • delegated to her sons the responsibility to accept the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her in 1991 while she was under house arrest
  • was released from confinement in 2010
  • was elected to the national parliament in 2012
  • gave her own acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012

Here are two of Suu Kyi’s thoughts about democracy:

“To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy.”
Letters from Burma

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
Freedom from Fear

Please tell us what you think: Are these views as applicable to the US as they are to Myanmar and other countries emerging from military dictatorships?

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology


[i] Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg address, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863.

Nobel Peace Laureates and International Women’s Day

In honor of International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8 of this year, we dedicate this post to the five most recent female winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.International Women's Day logo

2004: Wangari Maathai from Kenya, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, received the award for her achievements in sustainable development, the rights of women, democracy, environmental protections, and peace. (For more on Wangari Maathai, see this video.)

2003: Shirin Ebadi from Iran was awarded the Peace Prize for her work on behalf of democracy and human rights, particularly the rights of women and children. She was the first woman in Iran to become a federal judge, a position taken from her following the Islamic Revolution of 1975. Not until 1992 was she again allowed to practice law in her home country. Much of her work is risky, focusing on human rights cases. (For more on Shirin Ebadi, see this video.)

1997:  The 1997 Peace Prize was shared by Jody Williams of Putney, Vermont, USA, and the organization she co-founded, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. She has devoted her life to anti-war, anti-violence activities, and has helped to found the Nobel Women’s Initiative which works for peace with equality and justice.  (For more on Jody Williams, see this article and video.)

1992: Rigoberta Menchú Tum from Guatemala grew up in an impoverished Mayan Indian family that founded the Committee for the Peasant Union, which fought for social reform and justice for native families. Following the torture and murder of her father and brother, she fled the country and dedicated her life to promoting human rights and reconciliation. (For more on Rigoberts Menchu Tum, see this video.)

1991: Aung San Suu Kyi, born in Burma (now Myanmar), has earned international recognition for her work on human rights. Despite being held under house arrest in Burma for most of the past few decades, she has been continuously outspoken on behalf of the Burmese people.  (For more on Aung San Suu Kyi, see this video.)

These five women are all human beings who have devoted their lives to promoting human rights and peace. Read or listen to their stories. What characteristics do you share with them? What can you do to promote peace and human rights? Everyone can do something–you don’t have to be a Nobel Laureate to make a difference for peace.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology