The context of history:
Every new generation plays the morality game. By that I mean they like to judge the actions of past generations by the morality of their time. While objective morality (if there is such a thing) does not change, subjective morality does.
This is particularly true when current generations attempt to ascertain the moral compass of their ancestors, who lived, acted and were motivated by the emotions and horror that only direct experience creates.
In addition to different times, past generations had to deal with the anger and increased personal awareness of a horrific event that only they suffered with all of its shock and horror.
This is why making historical judgments about past events is risky business.
One has simply to imagine how you would feel about someone who had just killed someone you loved, and how you would react against that person. Now let thirty years go by – do you think you would have the same reaction?
The act did not change, but time does change how we act. This is a lesson we do not seem to understand when judging our ancestors.
Obviously, one has to be careful here. This is not an attempt to soften the impact of horrible acts. It is an attempt to understand how the emotions of those who directly experience an act are quite different from those who are completely removed from any emotional context.
History buffs like to point out that time makes for better analysis. Maybe so, however, I don’t necessarily believe that. Time supposedly creates objectivity. If that is the criteria, so be it. But this is patently unfair to those who directly experience history subjectively as compared to those who attempt to understand it years later.
This is true, even if later analysis proves to be more complete. It still remains without the direct emotional perspective experienced by those who suffered the event.
These brief comments are not intended to prove right or wrong. It is an attempt to give context not only to history but how we interpret history as well. And in the process, be a bit more kind in how we judge those that came before us.
And, perhaps be more kind and less judgmental in all things.
Brother Giovanni
opd 8/15
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