Friday, July 28, 2006
A Very Long Time
This being the 25th anniversary of the H-Block hunger strike in the North of Ireland, I was thinking about how nearly the entire world is in some degree recovering from the traumas of diaspora, degradation, and war accumulated over the second Christian millenium. I also thought about how if all war and oppression, hunger and disease ended tomorrow, it would still take a considerable cooperative effort to heal all the damage.
Human beings are remarkably resilient given an opportunity to recover, but some kinds of damage--especially to the very young--are irreparable. Were we somehow miraculously transformed into wise and compassionate beings worldwide, there would still be millions of individuals incapable of surmounting the disabilities still being inflicted today.
The reason I raise this less than cheery topic, is because part of the challenge in reconciliation, post trauma, is in getting those who did not suffer to comprehend the fact that some recoveries take a very long time--often generations--depending on the severity of the collective and personal experience. A generous world would take this into account; an impatient, anxious, or less than magnanimous people might not be willing to accept that.
Human beings are remarkably resilient given an opportunity to recover, but some kinds of damage--especially to the very young--are irreparable. Were we somehow miraculously transformed into wise and compassionate beings worldwide, there would still be millions of individuals incapable of surmounting the disabilities still being inflicted today.
The reason I raise this less than cheery topic, is because part of the challenge in reconciliation, post trauma, is in getting those who did not suffer to comprehend the fact that some recoveries take a very long time--often generations--depending on the severity of the collective and personal experience. A generous world would take this into account; an impatient, anxious, or less than magnanimous people might not be willing to accept that.
