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À Bout de Souffle
Out of Breath
On "On Forgiveness"
320
Forgiveness is too sacred a sword of social relations to be unsheathed for the pettiest of offenses. This sword should only wear the trickling blood of what is unforgivable, slay what beast steers to spawn enmity between men. For if the vociferous loon is slain over the murderous bear, what is need of a sword over a knife? “If one is only prepared to forgive what appears forgivable . . . then the very idea of forgiveness would disappear." No, this sword was tempered to vanquish not venial iniquity, but mortal. Its very point in being is to strike down the immortal foes of our immoral deeds.

To neglect the sword of its duty is in turn an offense worthy of the blade. Unforgiveness lends itself to unforgiveness; to harbor a grudge is to handle a shield impenetrable to reason, ever-protecting of hate. While I tend to witness people justify resentment towards those that have wronged them or for those that have been wronged, I believe it is tragic that grudges must be held. Don’t grudges usually seem to be used as a weapon to fill the offender with regret? What purpose can this regret serve if not to shame the offender to seeking the forgiveness of the victim? And when the victim denies the offender forgiveness, thus completing the circle, it appears to me that the victim is all too misled or blinded by his indignation to realize his purposeless, ceaseless brooding.

Mahatma Gandhi was compassionate enough to invent the vaccine for world blindness. Nothing is made equal with revenge. The only way to level the battlefield is to respond to a wrong with a right, forgive offense instead of perpetuating it. If Rwanda refuses to help New Orleans, where will the cycle end?

The quicker the slash, the sooner the sword rests in its sheath, unneeded.



Based on "On Forgiveness" by Jacques Derrida.
Recommended by 1 Member
invisible
2 Comments.


Servant leadership
Have you read any books on servant leadership? It talks about how you can lead people by influence and not coersion, threats, or misuse of power. Gandhi was a servant leader..
» kkama67 on 2006-11-16 11:57:05

Violence is not the answer
Though it might help with getting people's attention. But then that would probably make them get upset and more violent.

I think being less busy and stressed would help a lot, too.
» invisible on 2006-11-30 12:30:35

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