I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future!The editor of a philosophy journal asked me to write a review for the recently published Love and Forgiveness of a More Just World, edited by Hent De Vries and Nils F. Schott. I've spent the last few days reading the book, thinking about its ideas, and trying to get my head around some of its more difficult passages. To be honest—here are the confessions of a philosophy professor—some of it was over my head. I struggled with one sentence of 83 words. The next sentence had 128 words, and I had forgotten what the sentence was about by the time I reached clause 15. I'm sure this Kantian-like sentence had something very important to say. I just could't work it out. So I skipped the bits I didn't get, and concentrated on the bits I did get. Despite its obtuseness in parts, the book has something profoundly important to say.
I am as light as a feather
I am as happy as an angel,
I am as merry as a schoolboy.
I am as giddy as a drunken man.
A merry Christmas to everybody!
A happy new year to all the world!
Hallo here!
Whoop!
Hallo!
Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol
Its several authors in different ways, and coming from different traditions—Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Secularism—all highlight that the world would be a better place for more love and more forgiveness. Friends of mine, and readers of this blog, will know this is a theme close to my heart. (Shameless advertising, if you've not yet my book Love as a Guide to Morals, please do!) Yet, paying attention to the news and political developments this week, it looks like the world is not listening to such a viewpoint. It seems that love is too sentimental to have any real world effect. Forgiveness sounds too pious to change the world.
I disagree, of course. So too do the writers of the book I am reviewing. And so too, apparently, did Charles Dickens in giving us the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. To briefly recap—does anyone not know the story of Scrooge?—Ebenezer Scrooge was a hard-nosed businessman who had no time for sentiment of any kind, worked hard, drove his employee to work hard, cared little for the poor and disadvantaged, and would ban Christmas if he had his way. He is visited one Christmas Eve by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Through his encounter with the ghosts he becomes a changed man.
His story moves from wretchedness, selfishness and cruelty, toward kindness, consideration and generosity to others—all evidence of love, I would say—and demonstrates profound forgiveness, both given and received. Scrooge asks the pardon of those he had wronged, makes recompense abundantly, and brings about reconciliation with those from who he was estranged. Love includes forgiveness. Forgiveness leads to the reconciliation of relationships. And reconciliation is what the world needs so desperately.
The truth is we are all going to mess up from time to time. We will hurt each other in words and actions. We fail to love. So we need forgiveness. Forgiveness both springs from love and restores loving relationships.
But forgiveness is a complex process. Forgiveness is not an easy forgetfulness, as if the offense meant nothing. Forgiveness, rather, is necessary because the offense is genuine and has caused real harm. Forgiveness looks fearlessly at the offense and makes the choice that the offense is not the last word, and that the offense will not provoke retribution and further harm.
Ebenezer Scrooge seems to grasp this when he announces "I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future!" Forgiveness is a letting go of the offense of the past, an amending of the wrong in the present, and a changing for better for the future.
With regard to the past, there can be no forgiveness without a fearless inventory of past wrong (as twelve step programs help us see). Scrooge first had to face his inner demons, and the ghosts of Christmas helped him look fearfully at first, and then fearlessly, inside himself. Forgiveness is not carelessness toward the past and toward offense. Forgiveness looks realistically at issues and chooses not to return in kind. Forgiveness gets beyond revenge and retribution.
Then forgiveness fixes things in the present. It rights wrongs. Scrooge made restitution for his past errors. He changed his moroseness for jollity—"for a man who had been out of practice for so so many years, it was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long line of brilliant laughs!" Dickens tells us. Scrooge bought the largest turkey for the Crachit family and their poorly boy Tiny Tim. Scrooge over compensates the boy who fetches the turkey, and pays for a cab. He promises an undisclosed sum to the "portly gentleman" who was collecting for the poor, and insists on anonymity.
In the future, things turned out well for Scrooge. "He became a good friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the old city knew, or any other good old city, town or borough, in the good old world."
Scrooge changed for the better and so the world around him changed for the better too, for the world will ever only be changed for the better by loving kindness. Loving kindness will always bring with it transformative forgiveness for past wrongs. The forgiveness of past wrongs makes for good and wholesome relationships.
Oh, to be, like Scrooge, "as light as a feather and happy as an angel" this Christmas (and every day)!
+Ab. Andy
For those interested in my longer review of Love and Forgiveness for a More Just World, it will be out in July 2016 edition of Essays in Philosophy.