MORAL AMNESIA: Thoughts on Historical Whitewashing

		"Anyone who closes his eyes to the past is blind to the present.
		Whoever refuses to remember inhumanity is prone to risks of new infection."
		- Richard von Weizsacker, 1985

	Sum claim Guernica and Sarajevo were
	n't bambed flat err thot
	Auschitz end Battam
	bang wure lies

	Sum pratend the Nanking Messacre
	was grussly exaggerated or d
	at soldures in Viotram
	didn't cummit ghastly crimes

	Moril amnesia ramains a
	neural blocker ta peace – fur only
	by recognising pusst atro
	cities kun violence c
	ease


Frida:    Some people regard history as a stucco wall that can be painted over or white-washed.

Satoru:   Others conceptualize it as indelible stone.

Dmiritri: To me, nothing human is indelible. Sooner or later, everything turns to dust . . . .

Frida:    (shrugging her shoulders) Where does such nihlistic thinking lead?

Ying:     I'm not sure.

Frida:    (ignoring that comment). At any rate, all too often, those in power want to 
          "rearrange" past events to fit present agendas.

Dmiritri: Fer sure – and that's precisely the reason many voices are needed to 
          make history alive. History should never be the voice of any single group or 
          culture, but an ongoing polyphony.

Ying:     Well, it's hard to contend with the strident chorus of many voices. I suspect 
          some form of simplification & myth is needed.

Frida:    For whom? And for what purposes? Without reflecting deeply on this, we are but puppets. . .

=====================================================================================
from Peace Pieces: Reflections on Violence and Conflict Resolution by T Newfields
SUMMARY:  Some reflections on historical cover-ups and white-washing.
KEYWORDS: mass amnesia, political deception, social amnesia, Guernica, Sarajevo, historical consciousness, war crimes

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 1992 in Shizuoka, Japan ⩝ Finished: 2023 in Shizuoka, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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Translations 

French    https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/am.htm
German    https://www.tnewfields.info/de/moralische.htm
Japanese  https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/rinri.htm
Spanish   https://www.tnewfields.info/es/moral-amn.htm