Dissect - MS1E6 - "Forgive Them Father" (& more) by Lauryn Hill

Episode Date: December 11, 2018

We dissect a trio of songs in which Ms. Lauryn Hill presents a micro-narrative of heartbreak and forgiveness, a turning point in Miseducation's loose narrative. After establishing her pain on "When It Hurts So Bad", Ms. Hill turns her life over to god on "I Used to Love Him" and works toward forgiveness with the song "Forgive Them Father." Follow @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Join our newsletter at dissectpodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushna. Today, we continue our serialized analysis of the Miseducation of Lauren Hill. On our last episode, we dissected Superstar and Final Hour, two songs that cautioned against the superficial and self-indulgent behavior in Miss Hill's peers. As Miseducation continues, Miss Hill pivots from the external, what she views around her, to the internal, what she feels within her. Specifically, with the album's next three tracks,

we get a micro narrative about love, heartbreak, and the process of moving on through forgiveness. As we'll see, this will become the crux of the album's loose narrative, the point at which Ms. Hill is able to accept what she cannot control, the point at which she turns herself over to God completely. This micro narrative begins with the heartbreaking lament, the subject of our first segment of today's episode, when it hurts so bad.

Lyrically, When It Hurt So Bad stands in stark contrast with the three songs we heard previously on Miseducation, whereas rap-centric songs like Final Hour contain abundance of metaphor, cryptic biblical references, and double meanings, when it hurts so bad, is straightforward and transparent, working to maximize the sentimental impact of Miss Hill's emotions. We heard the same lyrical simplicity on songs like X Factor and Two Zion. There's a fluency between Miss Hill the rapper and Miss Hill the Diva, but each person persona uses a different vernacular. Here on when it hurts so bad, we are getting unambiguous expressions of heartache. The song's refrain we just heard states simply, when it hurts so bad, why does it feel

so good? It's a feeling most of us can relate to, expressing the unparalleled contradiction of love. It's posed as a question, and rightly so. Love's ability to oscillate between elation and depression is often very confusing. And if we stay too long in an unhealthy relationship, the scenario gets somewhat masochistic, as we're well aware of the pain it causes, though we stick around anyway, hoping in vain the situation turns the corner. This scenario is elaborated on in the song's first verse. Ms. Hill begins by expressing a disproportionate distribution of love and commitment. She sings, I love real hard once, but the love wasn't returned, found out the man I died for, wasn't even concerned. Miss Hill claims the relationship dynamic was unequal, that she cared more about the

relationship than he did. Despite her efforts, she couldn't restore a balance. She sings, I tried and I tried and I tried to keep him in my life. I cried and I cried and I cried, but I couldn't make it right. One thing we'll want to remember with this passage as it pertains to the micro narrative we're outlining today is this idea of effort, of attempting to forcefully fit square pegs into a round hole. This will stand and start contrast to the ultimate resolution will discover by the end of today's episode. When it hurts so bad, with the song's hook. Miss Hill sings,

If you ever been in love, then you'd understand that what you want might make you cry, what you need might pass you by if you don't catch it. It's here that we get a critical juxtaposition between want and need. She states that her want led to tears or sadness. Meanwhile, what she needed went unnoticed or unfulfilled

because she was so concerned with her wants. again like the first verse again like the first verse what she wants which is in this case to make an unequal relationship equal requires so much effort and force that she's blind to what she really needs this is pointed out as the hook concludes and what you need ironically will turn out what you want to be if you just let it this idea of letting go foreshadows the resolution miss hill will ultimately find and live by but first miss hill continues when it hurts so bad with the song's second verse Again, like verse one, Ms. Hill sings with a simplistic, colloquial tone. See, I thought this feeling it was all that I had, but how could this be love and make me feel so bad?

Gave up my power, I existed for you, but whoever knew the voodoo you do. These latter lines contrasts with the end of the song's hook, which you'll remember pose the idea of letting go in order to get what you need. Here she let go or gave up her power and live for this other person, leaving her feeling violent. vulnerable and dependent on him for her happiness and contentment. This of course crushed her when he turned out not to be everything she wanted from him. And this lesson of entrusting someone with your everything is one she took very seriously, one that carries over into the album's next track, I used to love him. I used to love him is very much a continuation of the themes and story outlined on when it hurts so bad.

The song features iconic diva Mary J. Blyge, who joins Miss Hill in expressing the aftermath of an unhealthy relationship outlined on the previous track. And like the previous track, the song's refrain is one of utter simplicity. I used to love him, now I don't. By the song's end, we'll come to understand why and how this transition occurred, beginning with verse one. Ms. Hill begins the song placing its subject within a religious framework. She says, as I look at what I've done, the type of life that I've lived, how many things I pray the father will forgive. This resembles confessional in which one states, forgive me or bless me father for I have sinned, which is then followed by a confession of what they have done. This is exactly what

Miss Hill does, as she follows by singing, one situation involved a young man, he was the ocean and I was the sand. All signs point to the young man in the situation being Wyclef Jean, though the specifics hardly matter in a song with themes as universal as this. Miss Hill compares him to the ocean and herself to the sand. It's a metaphor she elaborated on in an unreleased track that surfaced in 2006 titled Love. The lyrics of love are as follows. Your love is like the ocean and I am like the sand, responding to your power, a safe place for you to land. But when the undercurrents come and pull you out to sea, I'm left with shells and slippery rocks where you used to be. And when the sun comes beating down and burns my body dry, it's hard to wait until the tide to quench my thirst,

so I cry. Like the previous song, Miss Hill is outlining an imbalance power dynamic here, in which she, the sand, is dependent on the ocean for replenishment, leaving her literally out to dry. She continues, I used to love him singing, he stole my heart like a thief in the night. The phrase thief in the night originally comes from the Bible, used in reference to the return of God on earth. Quote, you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, unquote. the phrase is now used to mean sneakily or unexpectedly. Because Ms. Hill became so caught up with the relationship with this man, her heart was stolen from her without her realizing.

This notion is punctuated with the subsequent line, doled my senses, blurred my sight, which expresses how she was blinded by her affection for this man and how she lost sense of who she truly was. I'd gone through a lot, you know, a huge emotional and spiritual battle, prior to the creation of that album. And the funny thing is that while I was going in the battle, I couldn't see my hand, despite my face.

I mean, I really couldn't see anything because I was so emotionally entangled and everything that I'd gone through. As I used to love him continues, the narrative Miss Hill begins is continued by Mary J. Blige on verse 2. Regarding her choice to include Mary J. Blige on the album, Miss Hill told Vibe Magazine, quote,

Mary, she's my sister, I love Mary, I feel like I grew up with her, like I know her. She's so familiar to me, and that's what people love about her, that she's so familiar. When she sings, she feels it. It's not about perfection. That's the difference between the method and the heart. She strikes that chord, unquote. Mary begins her verse, I chose the road of passion and pain, sacrificed too much and waited in vain, gave up my power ceased being queen, addicted to love like the drug of a fiend.

Again, we're getting confessions of losing oneself, relinquishing one's power in order to serve an unhealthy, unrecipricated relationship. She compares this to a drug addiction in which one prioritizes drugs above all else, no matter the consequences to their emotional, spiritual, or physical health. After both Miss Hill and Mary established their mental state during their respective relationships, They join each other on the second half of the verse as their stories move toward their transition point, the point at which they made a change. They sing, Reach the crossroad, which path would I choose? Stuck and frustrated I waited, debated for something to happen that just wasn't faded. Thought what I wanted was something that I needed.

These latter lines actually call back to the album's previous track when it hurt so bad. As you remember, Miss Hill sung, What You Want might make you cry, what you need might pass you buy if you don't catch it. And what you need, ironically, will turn out what you want it to be if you just let it. In both instances, there's the contrast of want versus need, and how we often confuse the two, especially when love is involved. In the same way a drug fiend feels like he needs a fix, we know that that's a want. What he needs is to actually stop using drugs. This is the idea relayed in both when it hurts so bad and I used to love him. They vainly wanted to make work an unhealthy, unequal relationship. Ultimately, what they needed was to leave, and as we discover on the song's third verse,

placed control of their life into God's hands. Father, you saved me, and you showed me that line, some foolishness. Why? Show me than any pre-planet. I am sometimes in the look in his eyes. It's one of a man's lost treasures on talk, but my heart is going to say I took back my son. On this third and final verse, Ms. Hill and Blige continue their back and forth, expressing their new commitment to God. The verse contains a number of allusions to the Bible, beginning with line one, quote, Father, you saved me and showed me that life was much more than being some foolish

man's wife. The foolish man is a recurring figurative character in the Bible, used to display a man who disobeys the word and warnings of God. She uses the foolish man here to portray the wayward ways of her ex, ways that led to her living. outside the word of God. Hill and Blige continue, showed me that love was respect and devotion, greater than planets, deeper than oceans. The latter line is in reference to Psalm 366, quote, Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds, your righteousness is like the mountains of God, your judgments are like the great deep. Knowing now God's love and devotion, Hill and Blige are both able to see how their love for their

X was not healthy in comparison. The verse continues, citing against scripture, quote, My soul was weary, but now it's replenished. We compared this to Psalm 11928, quote, My soul is weary from anxiety and grief, renew my strength in keeping with your word, unquote. The verse continues, I see him sometimes and the look in his eye is one of a man whose lost treasure is untold. The lost treasure is, of course, Lauren herself. There's an implication here that the man viewed her as a material object for collection, perhaps one of many, not as an individual deserving of love and respect. Finally, the verse concludes, but my heart is gold I took back my soul, and totally let my creator control the life which was his to begin with. These closing lines

if I used to love him, is to me the critical turning point of miseducation, as the entire rest of the album will be informed by this action. It's the restoration of divine order, the humility that comes with the acknowledgement of the errors of your ways, the relinquishing of control of your life and entrusting your fate to the hands of God. Every time that God navigates my ship, there's nothing cerebral going on. There's very little, you know, there's very little thought. It's almost as if I have the directions. Every time I try to do it myself, I'm, you know, I'm conjuring up my own concoction and trying.

And, you know, it's a little more difficult to do it that way because it takes a lot of thought. It takes a lot of energy. But it's like when I'm lead, you know, it kind of really is just all there and it's clear. These are your orders just go forth and carry them out. Having reached a critical point in Ms. Hill's journey from heartbreak to redemption through God, will begin now to see a shift in the album's themes as Ms. Hill works to apply the Word of God in her life. This begins with the album's next track, Forgive Them Father, a song will dissect right after the break.

Welcome back to Dysect. Before the break, we reached a critical point in miseducation's narrative. We heard how Ms. Hill turned her life over to God, and by doing so, resolved the heartbreak and lingering resentment she felt toward her ex. On the album's next track, Miss Hill works towards forgiveness with the aptly titled song, Forgive Them Father. Forgive Them Father was recorded in Kingston, Jamaica at the Toughgong studio that was built by Bob Marley. Fittingly, the song's musical foundation is built upon Bob Marley's

1973 track Concrete Jungle. The guitar part on Concrete Jungle was re-recorded by Julian Marley, Bob Marley's son and brother to Rowan Marley, the father of five of Miss Hill's children. But give us on trespassies, as we forget those that trespass against us. Although them again, we will never, never, never trust. Oh what they do, they go to y'all while I'm sticking like you. The Jamaican influences continue with the song's introduction, which features Jamaican dance hall artist Shelley Thunder.

On a song that centers around God's forgiveness of those who've wronged you, it's fitting and likely strategic that Shelley Thunder is a born-again Christian and speaks often about it in her music. She opens the track saying, Forgive us are trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, although them again we will never trust. This will become the central theme of the entire song. While Miss Hill works towards forgiving those who wronged or trespass against her,

she also vows to learn from those experiences and never trust so naively again. Thunder continues, Them not know what them do, Dig out your eye while I'm sticking like glue. The perpetrators here are ignorant to their ways, and Thunder contrasts their vindictiveness, which she likens to the digging out of one's eyes, with her own loyalty,

which she likens to being strong like glue. Shelley Thunder's introduction is followed by the song's hook. The hook is extremely simple, centering around a single couplet. Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do. This simplicity of hook mirrors exactly the album's previous two songs. There we heard Miss Hill sing, when it hurts so bad, why does it feel so good? And I used to love him, now I don't. This to me only works to further unify this trio of songs and the micro-narrative it tells.

Forgive Them Father's Hook is a direct quote from the, biblical account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It said that as Jesus hung from the cross, Roman soldiers below him were gambling for his clothes, the criminals on the crosses next to him were condemning him, the religious leaders were mocking him, and the crowd was blaspheming him. Still, Jesus prayed for them all as he hung nailed to the cross. According to Luke 2334, quote, Jesus said, Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. This was seen as a fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy and bearing our sins, something he spoke about in his sermon on the Mount. You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you,

love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, unquote. Having turned her life over to God's hands, Ms. Hill reflects Christ's words in her own forgive them father. Having spent a good amount of the album venting her frustration with an ex-lover and the music industry at large, she now surveys the landscape of her life and works to forgive those who crossed her. This notion is developed as the song continues into its first verse. Beware the false motives of others. Be careful. Miss Hill here recites a cautionary verse about those who pretend to have your best interest in mind, but are really taking advantage of you for selfish returns. It's a verse penned from her own experience. You know, It was about a young woman, you know, in the music industry, you know, and the pitfalls, the snares, the traps.

And they don't stop. They keep coming. You know, they don't stop. I think that because I grew up in such a loving family structure, I thought that everybody did. And therefore, I thought that everybody reaped the benefit of that love. And pretty naive way to think. And so I learned very important lessons about people in their voids and how when you have voids, you know, like a black hole just sucks, you know, and consumes everything into it,

you know, and I met a lot of those people. You know, here I was this ship. I just want to love, you know, and I met a lot of black holes, a lot of people with a lot of deep, deep, painful voids. and, you know, who found it easy to take advantage and to manipulate and to deceive someone with me who just, you know, all I want to do is love. I had to learn from those things. As Forgive Them Father continues, Ms. Hill switches personas delivering an impassioned second verse. Why, every Indian want to be the chief, be the man till he's full and he still want me.

Give me three, chat of the teeth, forth my piece. Why, for you to increase, I must decrease. If I treat you calmly, doesn't mean that I'm weak. speak and think I'm taking to the streets. Miss Hill begins, but I try to keep it civilized like men to leak. And other Africans are, observing stars with war scars.

Get yours. There's capitalistic system. So many court that got what you can list up. How you going to idolize the missing? Ms. Hill begins verse two, playing off the adage, too many chiefs and not enough Indians, asking why every Indian want to be the chief.

This expresses the autocratic, power-hungry instincts of man, which is elaborated on in the next line, feed a man till he's full and he still want beef. This has two, possibly even three meanings. First, it expresses the gluttony and greed of man, that despite having enough, he still wants more. By saying beef, we also take this to mean conflict, so we can interpret the line as meaning despite having all his needs met. He still instinctively craves conflict or war in pursuit of some unquenchable thirst. Finally, we can view the line personal to Miss Hill's experience with her ex.

She quote unquote fed him till he was full or did everything in her power to satisfy him, but he still wanted to fight, using her kindness as ammunition, as stated in the first verse. Later in verse two, Miss Hill asserts herself, saying, If I treat you kindly, does it mean that I'm weak? You hear me speak and think I won't take it to the streets. I know enough cats that don't turn the other cheek. She plays up the biblical phrase, turn the other cheek, an idiom for forgiveness, saying she's got a violent crew at the ready if need be.

I feel Miss Hill's display of aggressiveness here only works to prove her strength, that her kindness is a choice not to be mistaken for weakness. It also displays that forgiveness is something she's still actively striving to achieve fully. This notion develops as she continues, but I try to keep it civilized like Menelik. She cites here Menelik, the first Jewish emperor of Ethiopia that reigned in 1950 BC. It's believed that Menelik was the son of King Solomon and Ethiopian Queen of Sheba, both who appear in the Bible. This could also refer to Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia during the turn of the 20th century. Under his rule, Ethiopia was transformed and modernized, and Menelik was known for his forgiving and unselfish deeds towards the poor. This line continues, but I try to keep it

civilized like Menelik and other African czars, observing stars with war scars. Aside from rhyming three of the last six words, Miss Hill gives a great image of ancient African leaders, peacefully observing the stars, the scars on their bodies representative of years of persevering through adversity. But Ms. Hill also uses this line to bridge into her next line, observing stars with war scars, get yours in this capitalistic system. So many caught or got bought, you can't list them. In this way, Ms. Hill personifies the African leader, looking around at stars or celebrities and politicians, accumulating wealth by manipulating American capitalism. Their war scars are from battling in this cutthroat dog-eat-dog system built on survival of the fittest. Saying so many caught

or got bought you can't list them refers to the often incestual relationships between CEOs, politicians, law officers, and drug lords. Often we find that people in these circles have illegally manipulated the system for personal gain, including things like fraud, tax evasion, paid off government officials, a corporation sponsoring politicians, and the slew of other shady tactics that some people in power utilized to advance themselves at the expense of others. After placing her verse within a socio-political framework, Ms. Hill continues by turning her focus on survival under these conditions, specifically the survival of African Americans. Miss Hill asserts her strength and commitment to principle saying,

To survive is to stay alive in the face of opposition. Even when they're coming, gunning, I stand in position. Elle's known the mission since conception. Let's free the people from deception. If you're looking for the answers, then you've got to ask the questions. As we heard in her reference to Menelique, Ms. Hill is positioning herself as leader of her people. She's pulling back the curtain on the inner workings of her. society, how we're often deceived by our leaders and manipulated by people who profess to be our

allies. She's using her own power to question authority, speaking for those who don't have a voice as loud as hers. She says, and when I let go, my voice echoes through the ghetto, sick of men trying to pull strings like Geppetto. Jepetto is of course the woodcarver who created the puppet Pinocchio. Pulling the strings of a puppet is compared to the way in which those in power control society. It's a dynamic Miss Hill as previously compared to the movie The Matrix. Matrix was a banging movie to me. And the reason why I appreciated it so much was because, do you remember at the end when Neo realized his potential, he started to see the binary code? You remember that? The whole world? Well, that's where I'm trying to be spiritually.

I'm trying to see the word of God in the whole world. So every time that agent throws a punch, I'm like, I see you. Oh, okay. You know, I'm just catching his, punches, you know, so I don't, I'm not afraid, you know, I'm not afraid because I'm starting to see that, you know, things are just situations materialize themselves and, oh, he's an agent. Miss Hill concludes her verse with a question and answer, why black people always be the ones to settle, march through these streets like Soweto. Of all the lines on miseducation, this one seems to relate most to the themes of the book that inspired the album's title, the Miseducation of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson.

In the book, Woodson asserts that black people in the United States are culturally indoctrinated by the school system and are made to feel as if they're inferior. As a result of this miseducation, he argues that blacks are unable to thrive in the American social and economic system. We can equate this to Ms. Hill's line about black people being the ones who have been forced to settle throughout the course of history. Like Dr. Woodson, she calls for cultural unification of black people, citing the uprising in Soweto, South Africa in 1976.

The Soweto uprising was sparked by the Afrikaans' medium decree of 1974, which forced all black schools to use Afrikaans, a Dutch-based language that was associated with apartheid, and dubbed the language of the oppressor by Desmond Tutti. This was in addition to the apartheid-ruled Bantu education system, whose primary aim was the following, quote, natives must be taught from an early age that equality with Europeans, i.e. whites, is not for them, unquote. In June of 1976, some 20,000 black high school students walked out of their classes in protest. The rally was met by brute force from the police, who eventually shot directly at the students, killing 23 on the first day of the uprising. By the end of June of that year, the casualty count was up to 176,

with thousands of others injured. Given that Miss Hill ends her verse with such a potent reference to the uprising in Soweto, the impact of the song's chorus that follows is heightened substantially, as we imagine in our mind's eye the thousands of bloodied young black students and the law enforcement that fired the shots. Before reciting the song's refrain, Miss Hill sings like Kane and Abel, Caesar and Brutus, Jesus and Judas, backstabbers do this. Here she's outlining three historical stories of betrayal. Kane infamously killed his brother Abel in the Bible. Marcus Brutus assassinated Julius Caesar in 48 BC after being pardoned by Caesar just a few years earlier. Judas, who is one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus,

infamously betrayed Jesus by revealing his identity to Roman soldiers looking to capture him. The references to these betrayals is followed by the recitation of Forgive Them Father, they know not what they do. And so while Miss Hill concisely details the follies of men and the injustices she sees in the world, her observations of malice are punctuated with the biblical passage of ultimate remission, reminding herself and others of Jesus forgiving those who wronged him, while he hung dying on the cross. As Forgive Them Father continues,

Miss Hill returns to singing in verse three. Miss Hill begins verse three, It took me a little while to discover wolves and sheepcoats who pretend to be lovers. This cites the biblical passage Gospel of Matthew 715, quote, Beware of false prophets,

which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are raving wolves. It again ties into the song's themes of deception and betrayal. Ms. Hill ends the verse providing the root cause for these people's deceptive ways. Men who lack conscious will even lie to themselves. A friend once said, and I found it to be true, that everyday people they lie to God too. So what makes you think that they won't lie to you? The dishonest people Miss Hill speaks of live a life based on a complex series of lies.

First and most importantly, they lie to themselves, falsely justifying their behavior and character, which allows them to lie to their family, friends, partners, and God. Ultimately, this passage lends insight into one's ability to forgive. If we view the malice of others as acts of ignorance, as acts rooted in their own self-deception, insecurity, and unhappiness, we realize that their behavior is unconscious expressions of those insecurities and unhappiness. With this understanding, we can evolve from viewing these acts as completely unrelatable. Rather, they're extreme representations of emotions we all accept.

This provides a pathway to empathy, and with practice we can pray for rehabilitation, not retaliation. We can empathize rather than exasperate or escalate. We can forgive but not forget. Conclusions Acclaimed psychologist Dr. Robert Enright pioneered what he calls the model of forgiveness, which outlines the process of forgiveness in four phases. It's a process not unsimilar to the micro-narrative we just unpacked on the songs when

it hurts so bad, I used to love him and forgive them father. Phase one of the model of forgiveness is what's called the uncovering phase in which a victim explores the pain that they have experienced because of their perpetrator. We can relate this emphasis on pain in the uncovering phase with Ms. Hill's lament when it hurts so bad, a song that, as its title suggests, outlines the pain she experienced because of an unhealthy relationship with a man. Phase two of Enright's forgiveness model is the decision phase. Here, the concept of of forgiveness is explored, ending with the commitment by the victim to attempt to forgive the

perpetrator. As it applies to Ms. Hill's journey, the concept of forgiveness was first explored in the opening lines of I used to love him. Quote, as I look at what I've done, the type of life that I've lived, how many things I pray the father will forgive. By the end of the song, Miss Hill submits herself to God, who in Abrahamic religion is a God that requires as followers to practice forgiveness in their own lives in order to receive forgiveness. from him. Phase three is what's called the work phase, where the victim shifts the focus to the transgressor in an effort to gain insight, understanding, and empathy. We found this phase in abundance on Miss Hill's forgive them father. Each of the song's verses details the actions and motives behind

malice and betrayal, concluding by the song's end that this behavior is extreme expressions of one's own shortcomings and weaknesses. This leads to empathy, making the forgiveness process easier for the victim. Finally, the last phase in the forgiveness model is the deepening phase, where the victim moves towards resolution. The victim becomes aware that they are not alone, has themselves been the recipient of others' forgiveness, and finds meaning and purpose in the forgiveness process. As this relates to Ms. Hill, we need to look no further than the refrain, forgive them, Father, they know not what they do. As you know, this was what Jesus said while on the cross, the ultimate expression of forgiveness under the most harsh and extreme circumstances.

Having been forgiven by God herself, Ms. Hill is able to deepen her commitment to forgiveness as a moral principle, and as we'll see as the album continues, allows her to move forward free of the encumbering baggage caused by the harboring of ill-will in one's heart. She does this from a place of strength, not weakness or naivety, as it's most often much harder to forgive than it is to resent. Indeed, Dr. Enright speaks often about forgiveness as a moral virtue cultivated through continual practice because forgiveness isn't easy nor does it always come naturally forgiveness is a choice a commitment to a moral philosophical principle it takes discipline self-control and strength of will to forgive it's a decision to abolish toxic

bitterness to reject revenge in favor of goodness and purity of spirit as dr enright put it quote forgiveness stands on the truth that what happened to me was unfair, it is unfair, and it will always be unfair, but I will have a new response to it, unquote. That empowering new response is a love toward our perpetrators that's more powerful than the injustice against us. It's the transcendent exhibition of moral strength that Jesus showed on the cross when he forgave his executioners. It's the transcendent exhibition of moral strength that Dr. Martin Luther King promoted when his people face abject hostility and violence in the American South. Forgiveness and love is the platform in which the most memorable and revered leaders in history have stood on when faced with seemingly

insurmountable obstacles, because we all inherently recognize the strength and iron will required in the commitment to moral principle when the opposition expresses only malice and hate. Because revenge is a self-propelling cycle. One act of malice leads to another act of malice in revenge, which leads to another act of malice and revenge of that act, and so on and forever. Forgiveness throws a wrench into the spokes of that wheel. And for those who have truly forgiven a perpetrator for their wrongdoing, you come to realize just how heavy and debilitating the tumor of resentment is on your heart. You realize that the one who suffers most is the one who does not forgive. And in this way, by setting a prisoner free, you discover the real prisoner was you all along. And with this

newfound freedom, you discover that you can actually stand in goodness and in love when confronted by the injustices of life, that forgiveness is a weapon infinitely more powerful than brute force. Because anyone can hate, anyone can hold a grudge. That's easy. That's for the weak. It's the person of strength that forgives, that transcends injustice, knowing that the world would be better off if more of us chose to love over hate. The other thing is I'm concerned about A better world. I'm concerned about justice. I'm concerned about brotherhood.

I'm concerned about truth. When one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. Through violence, you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder murder. Through violence, you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. Through violence, you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate through violence. Darkness can not put out darkness. Only light can do that. And I say to you, I've also decided to stick with love.

But I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it didn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. I'm not talking about emotional boss when I talk. about love. I'm talking about a strong demanding love. And I have seen too much hate. I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. I've seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too many white citizens' counselors in the South to want to hate myself because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and that

prisonality and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear I have decided the love