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Friday, December 07, 2007

Interesting Quotes: Episode 1


"Men are unable to forgive what they cannot punish and they are . . . unable to punish what has turned out to be unforgivable."

Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

Is it just me or is what this quote implies a little debilitating? It's saying in order to move on we always feel the need to make someone else pay for what we perceive to be their mistakes. If we cannot make them pay, or if we feel they do not sufficiently recognise their guilt, we are genetically forced to carry our feeling of injustice with us like a burden... unable to place it down on the ground and keep walking.

What does this say for our relationships with each other? Many of the things we do to each other are unable to be sufficiently "punished"... which makes me think, how much baggage do we all carry around with us?

4 comments:

Liam said...

Man, It really does make everyone sound like little pent up bottles of anger.

However, I can see some truth in it too.

Anonymous said...

Tu peux toujours décider de poser tes valises en acceptant que la justice est toute relative.

Anonymous said...

Even the old maxim of time heals all wounds doesnt fit into this thought.

What's hard is to find perspective when judgement is clouded by jealousy, rage, and pride. When I can look back at myself at those times often weeks down the track, it's when I can see why I feel little reconciliation with those who I hurt. And that's when I choose to forgive. (usually because I'm an asshole I also apologise too)

Anonymous said...

We have been raise, for the most of us, within society to explain things with this cause and effect rhetorical patern. It is in our nature to search threw what we see, that means this concrete world. However, we have not been raised to look into who we are and to be actually true to ourselves, because that hurts us. But the question is, is it in our nature to put aside reality if we are the reason of our anger?