STRIKING A POSE

In December of 1988 I had the opportunity to visit what remains of the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany. 

Most of the barracks had been torn down but a couple had been transformed into a museum containing artifacts and photos taken by the Nazis - now blown up poster-sized - documenting daily life and some of the inhumane experimentation they performed on the prisoners.

It literally made me sick. I had to step outside to get fresh air.

Another extant building was the furnace house where bodies were cremated, one after another. Visitors entered a door at one end of the long brick building and filed past several large iron furnaces in a row before exiting. 

Once inside, I paused and stepped back against the wall to let the reality of this place sink in. Before long an American family entered the space. My attention was caught by the teenage daughter in particular. I was amazed to see her walk the length of the building and out the opposite door without looking up from her compact mirror - as she applied fresh lipstick. 

I thought of that bizarre moment today while reading a recent email newsletter from one Dr. Todd Kashdan. He had written an article focused on this photo of a modeling session in progress:
(Sorry - the attribution of the photo's origin wasn't clear to me.)

Since the building in the background is part of Auschwitz and the model is striking a seductive pose on the railroad tracks which aided in the transportation of a million Jews into the deathcamp, Dr. Kashdan's comment on the photo was this: 

"A single picture that captures everything wrong with social media." 

But I have to wonder if "social media" is the right target for Kashdan's disgust.

His target could just as well be "young people", couldn't it?

Or, for that matter, human nature in general.

To paraphrase Jesus ... out of the overflow of the heart, the Instagram account speaks.