Forgiveness vs. Justice

Many people may have the same question. What is forgiveness? Why should people forgive? The answer is simply easy ----Love! Forgiveness is love. Because of love, people forgive. When someone trends on a violet, the fragrant odor of a violet will remain on his hands and feet. Although the violet has been violated, it will still bring aroma to the world. This is forgiveness. Simon Wiesenthal, the author, “forgetting is something that time along takes care of, but forgiveness is an act of volition, and only the sufferer is qualified to make the decision” (97-98). On the other hand, justice should be used as a sharp sword to protect people from suffering in a horrible crime or an evil event. According to Simon Wiesenthal, the author, the relationship between forgiveness and justice is delicate. For most times, people should open their heart to forgive others, while sometimes people should take it seriously and fight for it. (66) Therefore, if an event doesn’t touch the bottom line of justice, it can be forgiven; on the other hand, if an event touches the bottom line of justice, it may be forgiven with a serious punishment.

This book, Sun Flower, is mainly talking about the relationship between forgiveness and justice through a cruel processing event that the Nazis killed Jewish in Poland. Back into that specific time 1940’s in Poland, the darkness shrouded the lands. The Nazis ruled most Jewish people, and trade them as slaves between concentration camps in Europe. A lot of Jewish people were killed and suicide in concentration camps. The name of the book, Sun Flower, stands for a hope for being honored, or be hanging in the light. Simon Wiesenthal, the author, “I would be buried in a mass grave, where corpses would be pile on top of me. No sunflower would ever bring light into my darkness, and no butterflies would dance above my dreadful tomb” (14-15).  He felt that it is not fair because the murderers could have sunflowers on their tomb to show as an honor, while the victims couldn’t. So he felt that he had no right to forgive on behalf of all those who died.

            The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, “in fact one should be aware and remember these experiences so that efforts can be made to check the reoccurrence of such atrocities in the future” (129). Whether people forgive or not, it should be still justice. As most people know that the things happen today may easily affect the future. Therefore, if a crime continues happen nowadays and can be effortlessly forgiven, it will always happen in the future. If there is no justice today, there is no justice in the future. However, forgiveness is a personal behavior, while justice is a social requirement. One can simply forgive another by anyway, but it still should be justice.

            In some religion reasons, people may always forgive others although they have done a lot of evil things, but it may not justice. Buddhism often pays attention to fate. For example if two people meet, it is nothing but fate. In another way, fate leads people to meet, to talk, to know, and to have relationship. Because of fate, people love each other; while, because of fate people hate each other. As a result, people forgive because the forgiveness is destined. Also, in Christian religion, people always forgive others because they believe that if they don’t forgive others, the god will never forgive them. In this care, people may easily forgive others’ mistakes but it may be injustice. In other way, if people easily forgive a serious crime, there is no justice in the world. Susannah Heschel, the Eli Black Chair in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, “in Judaism, where forgiveness requires both atonement and restitution, there are two sins that can never be forgiven: murder and destroying someone’s reputation” (172). As a result, the Nazis should not be easily forgiven because of justice.

Learning to forgive others is also a way to learn to benefit ourselves. Learning to be tolerant, you will always be fulfilled. Hate can only make our hearts live in the darkness forever, but forgiveness sets our hearts free. Forgiveness can change your life and make your world be planted with happy and noble flowers! Waiting for the fall harvest, the fruit of those flowers will embrace you. Give others a chance to be forgiven, and give ourselves a chance to enjoy the pleasure to forgive. However, the most important thing is that to evaluate whether the event can be forgiven or the event go over to across the bottom line about the justice.

Works Cited

Wiesenthal, Simon, Harry J. Cargas, and Bonny V. Fetterman. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. New York: Schocken, 1997. Print.

In the first part of The Sunflower, Wiesenthal talks about his experience in the Nazi camps, about how life was and the friends he had in the camps. The book is centered on the part that he faced a dying SS man when he had been assigned to work in a hospital; a nurse went to him and ordered him to follow her to the dying man who needed a Jew to confess what he had done. She took him to a room where the man who was so wrapped in bandages that only his eyes were visible. The nurse left the room and dying SS man ordered Wiesenthal to sit on the side of his bed and hear his confession.  He had been raised Catholic and had joined the SS even when his father told him not to do so. The SS man told Wiesenthal of one particularly horrific incident of the dying young boy. The description reminded Wiesenthal of a boy he knew whom He named Eli. “The child with the dark eyes he had described remind me of Eli, a boy from lemberg  ghetto, six years old with Large, questioning eyes –eyes that could not  understand – accusing eyes – eyes that one never forgets” p43 Wiesenthal remained silent but was haunted afterwards by this experience, back in the camp he told his friends the experience he had and what He did. His friends had different opinions and He was not sure he had done the right thing. When the war was over he visited the SS man’s mother but could not tell her exactly what happened between him and her son. He ends his account by asking what the reader would have done, and the rest of the book is a collection of responses from 53 different people including theologians, Holocaust survivors, political leaders, psychiatrists and writers.

Forgiveness and justice can be hard to reconcile.  One can forgive but there is responsibility for the one that needs forgiveness. One is expected to repent or have remorse of their actions. After the encounter with the SS man Wiesenthal narrates to his fellow prison mates what had happened. Arthur was blunt with his comments: “A superman has asked a subhuman to do something which is superhuman. If you had forgiven him, you would never have forgiven yourself all of your life.” P66. Josek  felt that the SS man deserved the torment as justice for what he did, he says “such torment is only a small part of his punishment.” P66 Both Josek and Arthur felt that Wiesenthal because he was not the one wronged.   

Dith Pran who was a witness to and survivor of the Cambodian killing fields says he could not forgive the leadership of the Khmer Rouge who he blames for the killings. He says “They were brainwashed. More importantly, they were forced to kill. If they didn’t follow the orders … they would have been killed….”p231. this perspective resonate with because most of those who carried out the killings of the Jews  were under the orders of the Nazi and would have themselves and their families killed if they did not follow the orders.

 Desmond Tutu states “…forgiveness is not facile or cheap. It is a costly business that makes those who are willing to forgive even more extra ordinary”. P267. Tutu Was appointed to head the truth and reconciliation commission to address the injustice of apartheid in South Africa. Both black and white were willing to forgive. I agree that forgiving is better for both

The book provides an opportunity to look oneself and ask the same question in this circumstance or in other situations in our lives. Wiesenthal found himself before a man whose only wish was to confess before he died. We will never know for sure if he had remorse or as those who responded in the book thought that he wanted forgiveness for his own seek. The other question is; can one forgive on behalf of others?  Wiesenthal friends in the camp thought that one can only forgive only that what had been done to them and not to a group of people. I think forgiving is not forgetting nor excusing the crime that the wrongdoer has committed. I think forgiveness is to essentially let go of someone and acknowledging that you will not be controlled by the anger and hurt that the crime has caused.

English 151

8-6-10

Justice and Forgiveness

              When I started reading The Sunflower, I never thought it would actually touch me on a personal level. What I mean is, I usually don’t pay much attention to history, but reading this, I found out the difference between justice and forgiveness, from the Holocaust. I also found how complex justice and forgiveness really is. Simon said “A superman has asked a subhuman to do something which is superhuman. If you had forgiven him, you would never have forgiven yourself all your life” (66). That quote is meant for forgiveness, but it sounded like both, forgiveness and justice.

            Josek said “Such torment is only a small part of his punishment” (66). I think when he said that, it was out of spite of anger. I don’t think he was really thinking about forgiveness as much as he was thinking about justice. He wanted the Nazi soldier to die because he thought he deserved to pay for what he did. If Josek, was in the Nazi soldier shoes, what would he of done? Would he kill other lives, instead of just taking his? Would he say no, and stand up for what is right?

      

           These are all questions, when you decided what the difference between justice and forgiveness is. Eva Fleischner, a professor, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” (140). When she says that, it got me thinking. How could the dying Nazi, ask for forgiveness, when the people he should be asking for forgiveness is dead because of him. Who makes the choice of forgiveness? I don’t think anybody can ever speak for someone else’s believes. Most of the Jews would probably say, he deserves to die, but there’s a chance some of them could be forgiving.

           Abraham Joshua Heschel, a philosopher, “According to Jewish tradition, even god himself can only forgive sins committed against himself, not against man” (171). Even god can’t answer for other people; he can only answer for himself. I completely agree with this statement because your voice is not other person decisions. If this man came up to me asking for forgiveness for what he did to others, I think I would probably just be silent. How can speak for other people, when you might not even know what they are feeling.

         The limits on forgiveness are you’re our options. What I mean by that is how much you think you can handle with the pain. Also, if you think forgiving would help your own personal beliefs. For your own self, forgiving might be the only way to live your live. I am not saying your ever forget about it but at least you can say I forgive the Nazi for my own beliefs. The possibilities on forgiveness are endless, if you let them. If you think it’s possible to forgive someone that has done you wrong, than I think you should. I think forgiving someone that has made you miserable, would be the greatest thing you could ever do.

    

         I think if the Nazi soldier came to me and ask for forgiveness, I would probably say nothing. If I saw him kill my entire family right in front of me, I would want him dead. But when I found out he was killing to stay alive, I could respect that. Even though he killed my entire family, he was doing it to protect his life. If I was in his position, I would not kill anybody because who decides who more important. I would fight back to save my family because that’s what you do for the people you care about.

       The reason this part of these part of the book got to me more than the rest was because it made me think if I was in that situation. I do think what Simon did was right, because he did what he thought was right. He couldn’t speak for others because he really didn’t know what the innocent Jews wanted.  He might have had a general ideal, but I think he thought they had the right to tell the Nazi how they felt. So when Simon just looked at him and just let me die, I thought it was a very good trade.

Work Cited

Wiesenthal, Simon, Harry J. Cargas, and Bonny V. Fetterman. The Sunflower: On the

                Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. New York: Schocken, 1997.

   

The Sunflower



This book was not only about the Holocaust, but also about the question of justice and forgiveness.  I found this amazing that a person would wrestle with these two words, enough to survive the great tragedy and then write about them.  In my own opinion, I believe that these are two separate words, “forgiveness” and “justice”.  I believe that you may want to forgive someone, although you would like to see justice fall upon them.  If the SS man did not die would Simon also want justice to fall upon the SS man?

Simon named his book “The Sunflower”, because it represented the dead Nazi soldiers that will be buried in a grave, and the Jewish people will never have this honor.  Simon used the Sunflower to represent the dead soldiers, and they will have someone to visit their grave, unlike himself who will have no living relatives. Simon indicated that he was jealous of the dead soldiers by saying, “Suddenly, I envied the dead soldiers.  Each had a sunflower to connect him with the living world, and butterflies to visit his grave.  For me there will be no sunflower” (14).

The thought of forgiving the dying SS man, weighted heavy on Simon’s mind, and he consulted his two Jewish friends, Josek and Author.  Josek believed that Simon did not have a right to forgive the dying SS man on the bases that he would be forgiving a man for something he directly did to someone else by saying, “When you were telling us about your meeting with the SS man, I feared at first that you had really forgiven him.  You would have had no right to do this in the name of the people who had not authorized you to do so.  What people have done to you yourself, you can, if you like, forgive and forget.  That is your own affair.  But it would have been a terrible sin to burden your conscience with other people’s suffering” (65).  Later in the book, Joesk said, “If you had forgiven him, you would never have forgiven yourself all your life” (66).

Simon’s friend Arthur replied to the question of forgiving the SS man as, “Are you suddenly frightened to look death in the eye, just because you have seen an SS man dying?  How many Jews have you seen killed?  Did that make you shout out in the night?  Death is our constant companion, have you forgotten that?  It doesn’t even spare the SS” (69).   Author felt unjust about even the question of forgiving a man that represented so many deaths of the Jewish people.

I feel that it is a burden on the victim to ask for forgiveness.  This wrestled in Simon’s mind enough for him to write a book that asks the question “The crux of the matter is, of course, the question of forgiveness.  Forgetting is something that time alone takes care of, but forgiveness is an act of violation and only the sufferer is qualified to make the decision” (98).  Simon ends his story with the final question, “What would I have done?” (98).

Cythia Ozick did recognize that the SS man had recognized his wrong, and felt remorse by saying, “Consider this dying SS man.  Is he not unlike so many others?  He, at least, shows the marks of conscience, of remorse, of sickness at his life.  He is not arrogant; he is not self-justifying, he felt disgust at everything he has witnessed, he recoils from everything he has committed.  He is a man at a moral turning.  Ought he not to be delivered over to his death—to use the old Christian word---Shriven” (218)?  Maybe this is why Simon wrestled with this in his mind enough to write the book.  The SS man felt remorse.  When a person feels remorse for what they have done, does this help you want to forgive them?

Although, I personally feel that Simon wanted to forgive the SS man.  Simon also wanted justice for all those who suffered.  He spent the remainder of his life working towards justice.  I bet he also spent the rest of his life wrestling with the word forgiveness.


Work Cited

Wiesenthal, Simon, Harry J. Cargas, and Bonny V. Fetterman. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. New York: Schocken, 1997. Print.