The Reconciliation We All Deserve
After reading Scott Hershovitz article titled “Taylor Swift, Philosopher of Forgiveness”, the idea to forgive and forget is thoroughly analyzed. Taylor Swift believes we don’t need to forgive and forget. Sadly but surely, I 100% disagree with her.
Throughout my lifetime as with anyone else’s, humans all encounter social problems such as fights or arguments with friends and family. It is reasonable to be mad at someone for wrongdoing you, and many may say they simply just can’t forget. Over the years I have resonated with this simple “forgive and forget” phrase. When I thought about it, it didn’t seem as simple as it quite surely is. As I have reached my still very young age of eighteen, I have realized that life is too short to resent. My heart and soul have grown a capacity to move on and not necessarily “forget”, but firmly realize that we are all humans that make mistakes. Not only do I learn and grow as a person when I forgive and accept someone’s mistakes, but they also appreciate my ability to accept their mistakes and they learn from their own as well.
Along with those statements, I understand that not only my friends and family have made mistakes throughout the course of my life, but I have as well. If my friends and family didn’t forgive me for my mistakes, I couldn’t have learned and grown into the person I am proud to be today. On my sixteenth birthday, my best friend told me she wouldn’t be able to celebrate with me. I was devastated, and my first initial thought was that she performed an unforgivable act since we have been together for each other’s birthdays since we were five years old. I thought my birthday was ruined and she is the one that ruined it. A week later, she reached out to me. She explained to me that on that day, she found out her parents were getting divorced. Of course she wanted to be there with me on my special day, but she simply was suppressed with a feeling of sadness after receiving this news. I then thought to myself, people’s wrongdoings are sometimes out of their control, and no one has a smooth sailing life even though we all wish we could say we do. Even if someone commits a wrongdoing unrelated to outside circumstances, we all make mistakes. We grow as a person for being able to move on and forgive someone, and that person shall also learn and appreciate that person’s forgiveness.
Throughout the course of my life, I have experienced and learned. Not only have I learned from others mistakes but I have learned from mine as well. We are all humans alike, none more perfect than another. While we grow as people and learn who we are as a person, we make mistakes throughout the process. Mistakes are a simple human error that can be reconciled. I have forgived and have been forgiven. Humans learn from themselves and from each other, as we are all humans who make mistakes. Just because we make mistakes, doesn’t mean we can’t learn and improve ourselves from the outcome of them.
ahntkd99
carahall
andrewbecharaa
athenapup4
bane1900
bestbaker123
bmdpiano
comp0327
compclass8
cynicalwordsmith22
doglover441
drippydoughnut
drpaleontology
gcatt310
givemeclouttokens
hershey515
iamsleepy01
imagination4421
influenza123
jackso23
Jayv23
kraemercali
lazybear8
lelebxby
lg102015
lovericeandnoodles
lucbe219
morra2024
mpsj13
roses0102
Sub2MigzFilms
smellycat23
tenere84
thefrontbottom
voxpopuli75
whosyourcookie22
yankeefan25
Newspaperlessness 
Well you rescued this post from the horrible pile to something pretty darned impressive on December 10, LG. I wish you’d made your revisions sooner; there are still aspects of your work I think I could have helped you with. But good work polishing this one on your own.
LikeLike
LG, there’s not enough content here for a Portfolio item. You name an article, identify a topic, break down reaction into two categories (sort of), and then waver on which one you advocate. At least that’s how I read it. I wish I could be more positive. Part of the trouble is inherent in the material. Artists can SOUND as if they’re making clear claims while talking pretty gibberish. Not letting resentment hold on to ME but holding on to my resentment is impossible to argue either way in that construction because it’s virtually meaningless.
You could do a real service to readers by bringing some rigor to that non-declaration. Your “I don’t quite agree with that” is not sufficient. Nobody could exactly agree and not agreeing doesn’t help us understand what you do believe.
Like all arguments about abstract concepts (forgiveness, forgetfulness, resentment), this one needs examples and illustrations.
1. My brother borrowed $1000 from me and didn’t repay it when he said he would. When he didn’t explain or apologize, I found it impossible to forgive him. And I certainly couldn’t forget while I was still suffering the abuse. Would I have lent him another $1000 if he had asked? No. Later, he apologized and explained both why he couldn’t repay and the embarrassing details that prevented him from explaining at the time. I was able to forgive. And I no longer hold a grudge. But would I lend him another $1000 tomorrow? Or would I first have to forget?
2. Kanye West insulted me and never apologized. If I care about Kanye West’s opinion and think he may have harmed me severely, I may not have many choices. I can forgive him even without an apology if I reduce his humanity, consider him so reprehensible that he’s beneath my contempt. I can lash out by insulting him in return, neither forgiving nor forgetting. I can forgive him because I understand his insult results from his resentment of my greater talent. I can literally forget the insult because it means so little to me. Essentially I AM NOT IN CONTROL of any of these reactions, am I? I can’t actively choose one. They HAPPEN TO ME.
I hope those examples engaged your intellect in a real debate with yourself about the specifics of an ethical situation. Your essay in its current form does not do that for me. It doesn’t make enough specific claims to excite my imagination.
Do you find that helpful, LG? I’m doing my best to model the process of working out an idea without rewriting your essay for you.
As always, I would appreciate hearing back from you.
LikeLike
You’re not obligated to request Feedback, LG, but this wouldn’t grade well if it found its way into your Portfolio. You don’t have a Draft version to compare it to, so you’ll be in trouble if you do no further work on this assignment.
LikeLike