Sam

“Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.”
― Desmond Tutu

“Germans faced adversity in the aftermath of World War I, and they proved ready to compromise their values in an effort to reestablish national strength and security. That was not only wrong, but disastrous. It led to German destruction and left Germans suffering shame and guilt into the second and third generation.7”
― Robert P. Ericksen, Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany

“We can remind ourselves that historical circumstances in Germany, especially from World War I through the Weimar Republic, prepared Germans to applaud Hitler’s rise to power and then to become participants in his wild ideas and brutal behavior. The heavy hand of disappointing events worked on pastors and professors too. Therefore, they liked much of what Hitler offered. They indulged in nationalistic emotions, which convinced them that Germany needed to take strong actions to redeem its place in the world.”
― Robert P. Ericksen, Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany

“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote