By: Jessica van der Vooren, co-president, 1998-1999.

What have we learned from the Holocaust? What have we learned from the most shameful event this century and possibly all time?

We should have learned that no one is better than another. That everyone is equal to all others. Learned that in order to respect yourself, you must first respect others. That means everyone- regardless of race, colour, history, personality, class, or any other item of this sort.

We should have learned that everyone is as deserving as the next person. Men are no better or worse than women, blacks are no better or worse than whites, Jews are no better or worse than Buddhists. There should not be special privileges for anyone- we are all equal.

We should have learned not to judge people until we know them as an individual. This is prejudice. We cannot let ourselves believe that we have unwound the complexities of someone’s personality after a five second glance. Just because a person is different in appearance or culture does not make them inferior in any way.

We should have learned to accept and respect opinions, ideas, cultures and beliefs of others. Learned to embrace diversity with open arms and let it thrive throughout the world. To be open to new ideas, thoughts and opinions. Not to shun differences but to embrace them.

We should have learned that violence is not the answer. Soldiers killing each other do not solve the world’s problems. War and oppression are among the worst events to scar Earth’s past, and in all reality show no signs of ending any time soon. Attempting to solve problems with violence will get us nowhere- in fact, we will take steps backward.

But have we really learned any lessons? Even today horrible events such as prejudice, racism and bigotry happen. People are outcast for their religious beliefs, which is almost a reenactment of the Holocaust.

To me, it appears that we, as a global community, have learned nothing. The racism continues, the bigotry continues, the prejudice continues. People still believe that they are better than everyone else and as a result are more deserving of rewards or benefits. Then comes the fighting. Certain individuals feel the need to punish those who do not conform with their ideals. This elevates to unacceptable levels- and yet it still happens.

Have we found a solution to this problem? No. Even though many may not want to admit it, racism, bigotry, prejudice and many others are still present in today’s society. Although many other issues may outshine some of these, they are still there. Lurking in the depths of society. Waiting. You can pretend racism, bigotry, and prejudice are not there, but you would only be lying to yourself.

Many may argue that these issues are disappearing, but in reality people are only turning their backs. Nearly 9,000 hate crimes were reported to the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1996—more than half of them were motivated by race. This is unacceptable. What are people doing to stop it? Obviously not enough.

From the Holocaust, I as an individual have learned not to let someone else do the work for you. Don’t sit on the side and wait for issues to sort themselves out. Apparently, few others have gleaned valuable information from the Holocaust.

Only when the killing starts do people begin to pay attention, open their eyes to the situation. Even then, hardly any action is taken. It seems to me that people just don’t have the incentive to help unless the world is falling to pieces around them.

Still skeptical?

As I write this essay, "ethnic cleansing" is happening in Kosovo. Muslims are being driven from their homes at gun point because of their religious beliefs. Some are even killed. Those remaining watch their houses burn as they are forced away from their homeland. As if that wasn’t enough, every record of these people’s existence is burned after they leave the country.

And now NATO is bombing Serbia and Serbian positions in Kosovo. This is comparable to saying "two wrongs make a right", when, in fact, they don’t. An eye for an eye? Unacceptable. No good will come of this.

We saw this coming. News services all over the world predicted that an event like this would happen. A few negotiations began but were unsuccessful. Leading to this- the death, the pain, the despair. We didn’t try hard enough, and now millions upon millions of people will suffer the consequences.

There are many lessons that we should have learned from the Holocaust. It was a horrible blunder, and as a global community we should learn from our mistakes. But in this case, the Holocaust seems to be merely another mark on our tarnished past.