Citation

Misztal BA. Contemp. Soc. Sci. 2011; 6(1): 39-53.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17450144.2010.534492

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper will contribute to the debate on reconciliation by enhancing the understanding of the relationship between forgiveness and trust, memory and justice. Until several decades ago forgiveness was ?deemed unrealistic and inadmissible in the public realm?. Now, with a political fashion for apologies, forgiveness is seen as the essential condition of political reconciliation. Forgiveness is achieved only by offering trust for the sake of establishing a new relation based on mutual recognition of each other. The forward-looking character of trust that underlines forgiveness is rooted in, and is a source of, our life in common. Since forgiveness itself begins not with a forgetting but with a remembering, it will be argued that memory of the past can be useful only if it enhances the cause of justice. Such ?knowing?forgetting? does not mean that that the past counts for nothing; rather, it stresses that the value of memory needs to be evaluated in terms of its capacity to benefit others. In cases of political trauma, forgiveness is a process in which individuals' choice to forgive is mediated by their political groups and communities. The paper argues that teaching the value of forgiveness is essential when developing a tolerant, open and embracing human rights global society