Mary Pat Higgins
I asked Mary Pat Higgins, President and CEO of the Dallas Holocaust Museum Center for Education and Tolerance, to respond to Pastor Jeffress of First Baptist Church who made comments last week comparing the LGBT community to Nazis on Fox News.The museum is just a few blocks from First Baptist Church.
Here’s what she wrote:
The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust. This is the touchstone from which we teach the moral and ethical response to prejudice, hatred, and indifference. Study of the Holocaust assists individuals in developing an understanding of the roots and ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping in our society. We are in no way free of the dangerous desire that lay at the root of the Holocaust to divide humanity into groups and categories. Thus, as part of our mission, we encourage open and genuine dialog in our society to foster tolerance and understanding. We also caution strongly against drawing comparisons between current conditions in America and those in Nazi Germany. Besides being absurd and inaccurate, such rhetoric cheapens the sacrifices of those who died or suffered during the Holocaust.
We invite Pastor Jeffress to visit the Museum for a private tour to explore and learn more about the Holocaust.
— Mary Pat Higgins, president/CEO
Dallas Holocaust Museum Center for Education and Tolerance
