Forgive the Good and Bad - Part 1

Just watched a movie that had a story in it. That narrative got me thinking about forgiveness, what it is and where it comes from.

The story goes something like this. Two Coonhounds grew up together. They came out of the same litter, lived in the same household for twelve years and were inseparable best pals; as tight as any two dogs can get. After a Thanksgiving dinner, one of the guests throws down a turkey leg and it falls squarely between the two dogs. A bitter fight ensues. Tooth and nail. It’s like they never saw each other before. Finally, one dog prevails and things fall quiet. A half-hour later, both dogs were sleeping comfortably, curled up together on their cedar bed, one’s dog’s head resting on the other’s leg.

The short tale made me remember an episode from my own life. A much smarter man than I once told me that forgiveness is nothing more than relieving oneself of the necessity of taking revenge. It hit me like a mile-long freight train and I just sat there, unable to say anything. I contemplated a response for a few minutes. “But, but… I think it’s more like stopping to feel angry at the other person. Like, no longer hating him for doing something…” He didn’t hesitate, “What is anger and hate but the fear of being wronged?”

If there were no humans on the planet, there would be no need for forgiveness. Animals don’t seem to feel anger. They feel aggression and they act on it. But, afterwards, there is no hatred or anger, no scheming for revenge, no hidden resentment. In nature all things are good, right and just. But, in the eyes of man some things are right and others are wrong.

As I ruminate on this now, I feel that without getting into the concept of right and wrong, the notion of forgiveness makes little sense. Would there be a need to forgive someone if there were no right and wrong, or good and bad? And, what path lead us to hold those polar opposites in such high esteem?

I looked at many sources and there seems to be a point where they all converge on the reason for the delineation between Good and Evil. Ben Fountain deftly puts it: “The Force of Good always refers to something beyond ourselves - we negate ourselves to serve this higher thing. But Evil is pure, evil serves only the self of ego, you are limited only by your imagination.” We hold the concept of Good as a higher place to go to. The Evil is where we dwell, the Good is where we aspire to rise.

(To be continued...)