This past week, I went to Virgina to attend a conference and in our free time, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. Like any tourist, I was so excited to see all of the historical culture enveloped in the city. From the National Mall to the Smithsonian, there were so many moving monuments and exhibits that made me pause and think about how today's society has been affected. On my last day in the city, I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and what I saw there was stirring.

On the front of their Museum Guide pamphlet, is this:

This museum is not an answer. It is a question.

Turn the page and see:

And the question always is: "What is your responsibility now that you've seen, now that you know?"
Each individual must answer that question for himself or herself.
-Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author

During the first part of the exhibit, there was a video depicting the Nazi's Rise to Power. Before walking in, I must admit that I was confused as to how the Holocaust happened. Were people just completely oblivious? Was it just a huge instance of the bystander effect?

I watched the 14-minute video and I then understood. Almost verbatim from the video is this quote:

Even though the message was ominous, it was clear and direct and that appealed to the people.

You see, their political world at the time was a muddy mess. Their left and right side experienced conflict within their own parties (sound familiar???) and because of this, a third party with a loud and resolved message was able to cut through. When people are uneducated or without strong opinions, they'll follow the loudest voice they hear, even if they don't completely trust it.

It explicitly says in the museum that "Conservative politicians underestimated [Hitler]; left-wing politicians were equally naive. Neither took Hitler seriously until it was too late."

Well, here's where I explicitly state that I was thinking about Donald Trump the entire time I was walking through the exhibits. We're to the point now that the other Republican candidates are taking Trump seriously. This was evident when Cruz and Kasich tried to split the remaining states so that Trump wouldn't receive those delegates. Perhaps one of the reasons that Trump still maintains such a stronghold is that conservatives would rather place their vote somewhere they think it would count than vote for someone they actually support, whether that's Cruz or Kasich.

Trump is a magnet for publicity. Unlike Hitler, who had a charismatic personality, Trump attracts support through his lack of political correctness and blunt opinions. I don't know why people would want to put their country in the hands of someone who so clearly spews hate for others. If someone is already blatantly displaying their hatred for a group of people, imagine how much more that hatred will be displayed once in power. It's human nature to have some form of distaste for something, but to explicitly proclaim it as a public figure is dangerous--it could become a contagious view, one that would turn our country into a dis-compassionate, cruel place.

I don't know Trump's true intentions, but the similarities are there. There are so many frightening things that could come from his potential inauguration. History is documented so that we can learn from it and be prepared for when the time comes to defend others. While my opinion is biased against Trump, I ask that you educate yourself on the candidates and think about present day and future generations when casting your vote in the fall.

Even if you're not a group that has been called out by Trump, it is our duty as fellow human beings to stand up and speak out for any wrong that we see.