University of Wisconsin professor Robert Enright discussed the importance of forgiveness in the aftermath of Sept. 11 in a speech Wednesday night.
As part of the campus’ Sept. 11 remembrance events, Enright gave his address to a group of students and community members in Memorial Union, underlining the country’s need to be willing to forgive and exploring the conditions under which a war is justified.
Enright has spent 18 years researching the subject of forgiveness and has written a book on the subject titled “Forgiveness is a Choice.”
His definition of forgiveness is “the deliberate giving up of resentment and offering moral goodness in the form of compassion, benevolence and love to the person or people who were unjust to you.”
In his speech, Enright cited many leaders who encourage forgiveness. Desmond Tutu and former President Clinton are examples of people who have asked the world to transform their anger to forgiveness, Enright said.
Enright also cited Pope John Paul II, who said in an address last December, “There can be no peace without justice and no justice without forgiveness.”
Although Enright encourages forgiveness, he is not opposed to what he calls “just wars.”
He believes the United States is currently involved in a just war because it meets principles developed by philosopher Thomas Aquinas. These principles outline the circumstances that warrant a just war, including approval by a legitimate authority, proof of wrongdoings and prevention of further suffering.
However, Enright warns if we cannot forgive, we will be subjected to years of mistrust toward the Middle East.
Sarah Kantor, a UW freshman, agreed.
“Even if we fight a just war and win and still don’t forgive, we don’t get to be winners in a sense, because we still carry around this anger,” she said.
Enright also spoke about educating young children about the tools for forgiveness. For the past year, he has been trying to develop an educational program for the children of Northern Ireland.
“The children may lead us to peace through forgiveness,” Enright said.