Can a nation ever fully recover from a dark past?
I think that to some extent there will always be things left behind from a dark past and so it is almost impossible to completely ignore actions that have occurred in the past. I think, however, that it is key for countries to accept the problems and mistakes they have made in order to move on or else change isn’t going to happen. It is important to raise awareness and connect the people of the country with the events of the past as this way it is easier to move on effectively without cover-ups having a knock-on effect on the future of a nation. Future mistakes may occur by the same people in order to hide or mask a past and this will only create an even darker future. Values may also have changed significantly through time and so it isn’t fair to compare the actions of the past with those today. I also believe that it is important for nations to have dark pasts as this will only prompt even quicker change, change free from previous mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable and so they will happen at some point, the key, however, is to acknowledge these mistakes so that they don’t occur again and this can be done through increased awareness of a nation’s past.
What happens to sacrifice if it is forgotten? + Do we have a moral duty to remember?
I think this is a very important and interesting question because it is often overlooked and isn’t given as much attention as it may deserve. I believe that the most important part of a sacrifice is the person or people or things you are sacrificing something for. This goes hand in hand with the next question of whether or not we have a moral duty to remember. I think as humans if we are sacrificing ourselves or something for others it is key for them to remember it in order for it to be recognized as a sacrifice. If sacrifices aren’t remembered no one will ever know the true intentions behind them, leading to potential controversy. There is no way to communicate with the dead and so I believe people have a moral duty to remember as much as they can of a sacrifice. In this way, it becomes a sacrifice rather than a loss. It is hard to remember things that pass and so that is why it can be hard to remember the sacrifice and things that have occurred in the past.