Iranian conference is no match for high school project

One of the media's most important functions is cutting through the fog of misused verbiage to find the truth and distributing it to as many people as possible.

With more media outlets than ever, it's amazing that the Big Lie continues to survive. Or perhaps it's because of the mass distribution of lies made possible by the Internet and other electronic media.

Whatever the cause, it seems incredible that anyone, let alone 67 "writers and researchers" from around the world could take part in a conference like the one, questioning the holocaust, that just concluded in Iran.

The true nature of the event can be gleaned from the closing remarks by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said Israel would soon be eradicated.

"The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon, the same way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom," he said.

The kind of "freedom" he proposes? No thanks.

And the "writers and researchers"? No amount of proof would convince them of the reality of the holocaust, the most outrageous atrocity of the 20th century.

If the media haven't been able to make the point in the last 60 years, neither is there much chance to do so in the next 60.

But there is hope for the truth to prevail, and it will be through efforts like those of a small group of Kansas high school students and their teacher.

In 1999, Norm Conard suggested to to four of his Uniontown High School students that they research the life of Irena Sendler, who is credited with saving 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in 1942-43.

The project grew into a short play called "Life in a Jar," which was presented hundreds of times, and led to the students traveling to Poland to meet Sendler herself.

That led to a documentary and international recognition for Sendler and the students.

And now, Conard and others are working with the president of Poland and the prime minister of Israel to nominate Sendler for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"It's a testimony to not only Irena Sendler and the courageous acts that she completed, but also to a bunch of dedicated young people passionate about making a difference in the world," Conard said.

How true. Nothing can do more to overcome lies and hatred than helping young people, the leaders of tomorrow, find the truth for themselves.