How long are we to be held accountable for the failures and fallacies of past generations. Is it forgiveness that we seek, or forgetfulness ? It has been said that to forget the past and its' lessons you are doomed to repeat it. I wouldn't debate the wisdom of that so remembering those lessons are vital to moving forward. I would add that we mustn't allow that knowledge to act as an anchor either. We can not be anchored in the past and expect to make progress. All we can do is change the methods employed to continue our successes. We can make amends and reparations, but for how long ? That is the question at hand.
Amends and reparations are ideally made to the ones that were wronged. In the absence of that we can only offer sympathy. We can then empathize with any descendants that may have suffered as a consequence of those actions. Is that one , two or more generations ? At what point does history become a crutch ? How long can we use history as an excuse ? History can not be undone or rewritten. We do hold the pen to write the future however. Do we want that future to be one of seeking revenge for the past ? It is my feeling that is what is being sought by many in society today. Amends and reparations have been offered and made in abundance. Anything further than that is revenge. Indeed the word revenge tells us just that. It is the act of seeking compensation for what happened to someone other than ourselves. It is true that it may have been a family member or friend but that doesn't justify the action. Some will attempt to call it justice. Justice cannot be provided to those wronged in the past. Justice is only served in the present. So to say Justice is served for the actions of those already long past is a fallacy. It just sounds more palatable than revenge. Justice implies an entitlement. We are entitled to Justice no one would dispute that. Are you entitled to Justice for anyone other than yourself ? I would argue that you are not. Justice, just behavior or treatment, is a personal thing. Each of us interpret it differently. We have written laws to define what we consider minimum standards of Justice. Justice is often thought of as punishment, that too, is a fallacy. Those laws are the defining of just behaviors. The penalties for acting contrary to those just behaviors are the amends, reparations and in some cases, revenge that are sought by a society or a nation.
I believe once the laws have been changed to eliminate injustice to members of a society, or a nation, and reparations made, that should be the end of it. I'm not saying we just forget it ever happened. I would employ an old adage, there is no need to cry over spilled milk ! If that milk has been replaced that is all that can be done. Should I have to provide milk to future generations ? Now milk is a physical thing than can be replaced and I understand that there are things that can never be replaced. Attempting to do so is an exercise in futility. Futility leads to frustration and frustration to anger. So what is the answer ? I wish I had that answer. I do know that as long as you use the limitations of the past as your foundation you cannot expect much growth. Even though those limitations were artificially imposed upon your ancestors and injustices done it does not justify the actions of today. Amends have been made, reparations have been paid, and injustices corrected. There is nothing more to be done. The spilled milk has been cleaned up, let's move on.
Amends and reparations are ideally made to the ones that were wronged. In the absence of that we can only offer sympathy. We can then empathize with any descendants that may have suffered as a consequence of those actions. Is that one , two or more generations ? At what point does history become a crutch ? How long can we use history as an excuse ? History can not be undone or rewritten. We do hold the pen to write the future however. Do we want that future to be one of seeking revenge for the past ? It is my feeling that is what is being sought by many in society today. Amends and reparations have been offered and made in abundance. Anything further than that is revenge. Indeed the word revenge tells us just that. It is the act of seeking compensation for what happened to someone other than ourselves. It is true that it may have been a family member or friend but that doesn't justify the action. Some will attempt to call it justice. Justice cannot be provided to those wronged in the past. Justice is only served in the present. So to say Justice is served for the actions of those already long past is a fallacy. It just sounds more palatable than revenge. Justice implies an entitlement. We are entitled to Justice no one would dispute that. Are you entitled to Justice for anyone other than yourself ? I would argue that you are not. Justice, just behavior or treatment, is a personal thing. Each of us interpret it differently. We have written laws to define what we consider minimum standards of Justice. Justice is often thought of as punishment, that too, is a fallacy. Those laws are the defining of just behaviors. The penalties for acting contrary to those just behaviors are the amends, reparations and in some cases, revenge that are sought by a society or a nation.
I believe once the laws have been changed to eliminate injustice to members of a society, or a nation, and reparations made, that should be the end of it. I'm not saying we just forget it ever happened. I would employ an old adage, there is no need to cry over spilled milk ! If that milk has been replaced that is all that can be done. Should I have to provide milk to future generations ? Now milk is a physical thing than can be replaced and I understand that there are things that can never be replaced. Attempting to do so is an exercise in futility. Futility leads to frustration and frustration to anger. So what is the answer ? I wish I had that answer. I do know that as long as you use the limitations of the past as your foundation you cannot expect much growth. Even though those limitations were artificially imposed upon your ancestors and injustices done it does not justify the actions of today. Amends have been made, reparations have been paid, and injustices corrected. There is nothing more to be done. The spilled milk has been cleaned up, let's move on.
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