Marc Abrams

Ellis:

I fear that you have misread what I was trying to convey. It tends to be when people place events, ideas, opinions, etc. in absolutes, frequently, the conversation is shut down. I would have thought that the example that I gave with the book "The Nazi Doctors..." would have clearly illustrated that point. So many people want to look at what happened as "absolute evil." The reality was much more complicated than that. Understanding the psychological principles that shaped people into doing the "unspeakable" is critical. We obviously have not learned from that, because we have other other mini genocides occur while the world stood by and watched.

All of the examples that you gave discussed how events were shaped by their cultures over time. Thanks to abstract reasoning capacities, humans have the unique capacity to justify things that run counter to our very survival! I

I agree with you assessment of society's need for "forgiveness." You and I have both worked with people who have been severely traumatized, abused,.... Your assessment was right on target. My nonacceptance and condemnation of these types of alleged events are on par with yours (my guess- I may be wrong about that). My own experiences, personally and professionally have been that personal healing has been facilitated when a person does not have to only look at the events from the "eyes" of moral absolutes.

I try and live up to the idea of treating everything around me as I would wanted to be treated. Living up to the reverence of the most precious, fragile gift - life, is easier said than done.

I have to get to work now in my job as a psychologist. I think that if we were to discuss these issues, we would have more common ground than you might believe. If we look at things from slightly different angles, then that simply highlights to beauty of the uniqueness of life.

Regards,

Marc Abrams