Night and When Broken Glass Floats : Elie Wiesel and Chanrity Him

Night and When Broken Glass Floats

Both Elie Wiesel and Chanrity Him went through traumatic, and life changing experiences during their lives. They both went through the dramatic change in leadership in the societies that they lived in. Both regimes that were attempting to take control of both Wiesel and Him’s societies used forceful and brutal tactics to those who didn’t fit in their idea of society. The things that Wiesel and Him experienced during each of their societies attempt at revolution are both very similar, yet different at the same time. The regimes behind these attempted revolutions somewhat defied what both Frederic Bastiat and Karl Marx thought about government and the role that it should play in societies.

In Wiesel’s case, it was Nazis and in Him’s case, it was the Khmer Rouge. These regimes, in both cases, were making an attempt to overthrow the current government in Germany and Cambodia, respectively. These regimes had a very specific idea about the way a society should be run and governed, and they were willing to do everything in their power to accomplish their own goals and agendas. The Nazi party wanted to “purify” Germany and eliminate any people that they did not see to be desirable. The people that did not fit into their society were forced into concentration camps, where they would be faced with hard labor, inhumane living conditions, and death right around the corner if they did not follow the orders of the Nazi’s in control. Wiesel tells the horrors of these concentration camps, how they changed his life forever. “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget those moments whic...

... middle of paper ...

...y Him give great stories of their experiences through a change in government at the hands of corrupt and brutal regimes. They both tell how the regimes had no sense for the individual rights of the people in society. In the end, both regimes eventually fell, but not before millions of lives were taken. These stories shed light on how correct both Bastiat and Marx were about how government should be run. They show how a government that is too controlling and too forceful on its people will never have a long lasting existence. The power of government must have limitations, and the individual rights of the members of society must be taken account for and respected. Government is needed in society and plays a very crucial role in the longevity and successfulness of a nation. However, too much or too little government control will ultimately be the demise of a society.