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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Chamber Communiqué: Many ways to take part in Ashland's Fourth of July celebration ... Workshop on local 'safety & security' planned ... Plaza gathering commemorates Orlando victims ... Chamber Communiqué: Many ways to take part in Ashland's Fourth of July celebration ... Workshop on local 'safety & security' planned ... Plaza gathering commemorates Orlando victims ... COMMENTARY Chris Honoré: Confronting a moral intersection Comment By Chris Honoré DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré Posted Jun. 13, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Chris Honoré Posted Jun. 13, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News As I watch the riptides and currents gripping the Republican Party, I conclude that for the men and women of the GOP, this is a moral intersection. Each of them will look back and remember where they stood and what they said and their choices will be bound up with the quality of their character. This is a moment that will define them and their party. For reasons that are deeply embedded in my own history, I find my thoughts drifting back to World War II, wherein people were often required to make moral choices both large and small. Most were anonymous, their stories now lost to the many layers of history. But in the aggregate they represented a collective courage — or its absence — that still defines us all. I was born in Denmark in the midst of the Second World War, during a German occupation that began in 1940. During that period the Danish Resistance was formed. The men and women who belonged to this movement fought against the Germans using covert and overt sabotage. My father was a member. One of the tenets of the Resistance and of Denmark was to protect, by all means possible, its Jewish population. In the fall of 1943, Adolph Hitler ordered all Danish Jews to be arrested and deported. The Resistance, along with the help of countless Danish citizens, managed to first hide and then evacuate, at great personal risk, over 7,000 Jews as well as some 600 non-Jewish spouses across the Oresund Strait (using fishing boats, rowboats and kayaks) to neutral Sweden, where they remained for the duration of the war. There is a story about the Danes that is perhaps more myth than reality, but what it may lack in truth is made up for in its symbolism. On Oct. 1, 1943, Hitler announced that all Danish Jews were to wear the Star of David on their clothing. This order was a prelude to rounding them up and shipping them south to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Bohemia. On the morning of Oct. 2, in open defiance and in solidarity, all the Danes of Denmark appeared on the streets and in shops wearing the Star of David. King Christian X, who rode his horse each morning across the royal grounds, also wore the Star of David. As a nation, collectively, the Danes stepped forward. What is known is that only 464 Jews were captured and sent to Theresienstadt and of those, 99 percent survived the Shoah due to a relentless campaign by the Danish Red Cross to intervene on their behalf. None were sent to extermination camps. Most of those who participated in the rescue of the Danish Jews, committing both small and large acts of heroism, are unknown. When the war finally ended and a defeated German Army left Denmark, the Resistance members were asked to wear armbands in recognition of their courage. Why this history of a very small nation so resonates for me today is that I know what it means for individuals to confront a moral intersection and then act. And today I watch in disbelief as the Republicans equivocate when confronted with overt racism and bigotry. Many have lapsed into silence, or sought shelter in the tall grass, hoping not to be asked where they stand. Their flimsy and despicable rationale is that while their candidate may be a racist and a misogynist, he is not Hillary Clinton. And so they compromise, hoping that their presumptive nominee will apologize, change and ultimately become more presidential. I believe it’s called collaboration with him who is the purveyor of our darkest impulses, a voice that has always been with us but one that our democracy has, ultimately, managed to reject. We repeat our national mantra: e pluribus unum — out of many, one. We have refused to build walls, we have no national religion, we encourage a national dialogue stemming from differences of opinion, and we struggle to remind ourselves that we are stronger for our diversity. We strive (however imperfectly) for equality and tolerance. Let the Republicans now step forward. This is no longer just about winning. Chris Honoré of Ashland is a Daily Tidings columnist. By Chris Honoré DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré Posted Jun. 13, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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