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There is a very revealing incident in Remarque’s book about W.W. I., All’s Quiet on the Western Front.  In the heat of battle a German soldier, seeking shelter from enemy fire, leaped into a shell hole.  To his surprise he found there an Englishman.  After the first shock of fright he considered what he should do.  Should they proceed to bayonet each other?  His question was soon answered when he saw that the other man was severely wounded, so badly wounded that he was humanly touched by the man’s condition.  He gave him a drink from his canteen and the man gave him a look of gratitude.  The Englishman then indicated that he wanted him to open his breast pocket.  When he did so an envelope containing pictures of the man’s family fell out.  Obviously the man wanted to look at his loved ones once more.  In those brief moments before the English soldier died, the German soldier held up before him the pictures of his wife, his children and his mother.  In this simple story, we have something remarkable and even profound.  At first, the attacker saw only an enemy, a wearer of a hated uniform, but when he looked more closely, he saw a wounded, defenseless human being who was loved by his family and who loved them in return.  There were two totally different dimensions present.


America, It’s Not Too Late, Batsell Barrett Baxter, page 34, 35

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