We're asked to vote "yes" or "no" on a series of complicated issues such as defining permissible degrees of censorship, rights of privacy and religious freedom, all framed in narrow contexts designed for short attention spans. Should the Danish cartoons that mocked the radical Islam have been published? After 9/11, was George W. Bush right to say that "We will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism . . . Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists? "
After the visitor presses a button to answer, the screen flashes the result, as well as how everyone else voted. On the day I was there, the votes were fairly evenly divided. Each generation following World War II frames the Holocaust to fit its own perceptions of evil. Anne Frank becomes a Rorschach test; she is both a single victim of anti-Semitism and a universal example of "man's inhumanity to man." Her story speaks of heroes who sought to save her and her family and friends, testifying to a braver nature in mankind -- a tale of both horror and hope.
As I walked out of the house, I watched a man dressed in a St. Nicholas costume dart into a pub nearby for something to warm himself against the wintry chill. I was reminded that in her diary, Anne wrote of enjoying Hanukkah, but that "St. Nicholas Day was much more fun." Amsterdam is ablaze with lights and music during the festive holiday season, but the trees along the canal suddenly looked weighted down by a heavy dark rain falling from a blackened sky.
Anne's diary, as presented on Broadway and by Hollywood, focused on the words she wrote: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." This is the season to contemplate once more the hope of the holidays. Merry Christmas, everyone.