Building a Forgiving Society by JOSEPH MARGULIES
I am hard at work on a new book. It begins at the end. It imagines we have created a world that is considerably more forgiving than our own. Where society has neither the right nor the inclination to treat a human being as a monster, indelibly branded as unworthy of membership, and where no transgression, no matter how severe, permits society to dissolve the bonds that all humans share, simply because they are human. A world where punishment proceeds from the premise that wrongdoers were, are, and will always remain one of us, and that the goal of punishment is not to cast out but to bring back. Where people are not entombed in their past.
All of this work has led me to a deeply personal moral philosophy, which I long ago distilled to eight words: There is no them, there is only us.
Let me know when you publish it I’ll buy a copy hell maybe several and distribute them to county and state officials maybe they will read it and have better ideas to help instead of damn
This is an outstanding article and encourage everyone to click on ‘Source’ and read the entire article! I just sent this article to my pastor and friends; we all need to pass this on!
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy” – Thomas Merton
This a very good article. I agreed with the philosophy behind it. We as sociaty has gone numb for love. If there is still salvation from doom.. this is the way to follow