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That Which We Deny

Posted by DAVID SCHRAUB, Assistant Editor in Society.
Apr 25th, 2008 | Comments

There is a persistent tendency amongst people (all people, not just Americans) to deny their group or nation’s role in oppression or atrocities — something I discovered recently when I observed that the U.S. has, in fact, supported terrorism in Central America (the death squads of the 1980s). Denial is a tempting emotion. But it is also exceedingly dangerous, and lays the ground work for the reiteration of mass atrocity worldwide.

  • runasim
    I don't know enough about US involvement in atrocities in Latin America to say whether I agree with your analysis. .
    In a general way, though, I definitely feel that our inability to face up to the errors and wrongs in our history. shapes our contentious and aggresive culture and breeds hatred toward anyone who so much as brings up the subject.

    Equally pernicious is our inability to live comfortably with complex, dual nature acions. I'm referring to things like our use of the atomic bomb. It is said that doing so saved lives in the end, and that's a legitimate way to look at it. However, there is no logical reason why we can't, at the dame time, acknowledge the suffering that caused and mourn for the vicims.

    When we sweep everything under the rug, the act of keeping so mcuh hidden creates a tension that can burst out in ugly ways.
    The reaction to Rev. Wright is one such example.
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