Forgiveness, Not Revenge

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Reparations, Minow says, are another important dimension of forgiveness. They also embody a paradox. “The idea that you could put a monetary value on the time spent in a Japanese internment camp, or for the loss of loved ones in the gas chambers, is insulting,” she says. Yet reparations often have a symbolic importance that dignifies them. In that sense, Minow explains, reparations can deepen the power of an apology, by showing sincerity of remorse and a desire to make things different in the future. “So in a funny way, apologies are most believable when they're accompanied by reparations, and reparations are least offensive when they really are about apology.”

The domestic American justice system tends to downplay forgiveness, Minow notes. Presidents and governors occasionally grant pardons, and perpetrators may be forced to confront their victims. But compared to other cultures—Japan, for instance—atonement and forgiveness have never been key features of American law. “There's good reason to explore more ways in which our justice system can promote the possibility of apology and forgiveness, or make more room for people to do that outside the justice system,” Minow says.

Which leads to the inevitable question: What about Bill?

“The president's failure to give a believable apology has made the granting of forgiveness very hard for lots of people,” she answers. “It's interesting that Clinton has been the most apologetic president in many respects,” she adds, noting his apologies for the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, his near apology for slavery, and other ceremonial gestures. “He's not alone; many other world figures right now are doing that too; there's something about this moment that makes that seem more possible. But still, that he then would be so inept about it in his own conduct is quite remarkable.”

According to the polls, African Americans have shown a striking readiness to forgive Clinton nonetheless. Minow suggests that a number of factors may be at play. Many African Americans may feel that Clinton, a southerner committed to racial justice, has been the best president for them in a long time. Just as crucial, however, is the long-standing tradition of forgiveness in the African American community, an ethic born of historical experience and often embodied in spiritual beliefs.

In other words, the capacity to forgive is, if not a human invention, then at least a trait that can be fostered by our institutions. The influence of religion and culture also have been crucial in South Africa, where the modern model of psychological healing has meshed well with Christian notions of forgiveness. A third factor is an African concept, ubuntu, that Minow defines as “humaneness, or an inclusive sense of community valuing everyone.” In this sense of justice, no one can be human until all are human, and the fragile bonds destroyed by violence are reconnected.

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