As I read the following information from Central America, I couldn't help but think about Nietzsche's underestimation of the strength of people of faith:

This year marks the Twentieth Anniversary of the Assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero (El Salvador). Archbishop Romero was a studious man and a gentle shepherd of his people. More and more Romero committed himself to the poor and the persecuted. He opened a human rights office which documented abuses and he received many death threats as a result. He was a powerful preacher and each Sunday his sermons were broadcast live on radio throughout the country.His preaching was remarkable and everyone listened to him but especially his beloved poor. He spoke openly about the reality that they were experiencing and he brought the light of Gospel to bear on their lives. But the last Sunday he preached these words."Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your own brothers. Any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God, which says,'Thou shalt not kill.' No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such an abomination... In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression." Within the week, he was assassinated.

************** The Jesuit priests of the University of Central America were outspoken about the oppressive socioeconomic structure of the Salvadoran Society. They were unwavering in their defense of the poor and were labeled subversives by the Salvadoran Government. The military accused them of being the "brains" behind the guerrilla movement. This was totally false. They were educators who spoke openly in defense of human rights. On the night of November 16,1989, soldiers entered the gated university campus. They dragged Ignacio Ellacuria, Segundo Montes, Ignacio Martin-Baro, Joaquin Lopez y Lopez, Juan Ramon Moreno, and Armando Lopez to the outside garden. Using their high powered rifles against these defenseless men, they intentionally fired at their heads blowing their brains out. Their housekeeper, Elba Ramos and her daughter Celia Marisela Ramos, were subsequently found and murdered as well. ***************

Mind you, I imagine Nietzsche would consider the following to be a sign of anger and hatred on the part of Elba Ramos' husband.

Elba Ramos's husband has turned the yard where the bodies were found into a rose garden and tends the roses he planted in memory of his wife and daughter and of their Jesuit colleagues. Roses often grace the altars at memorial services honoring these eight martyrs.

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2000