August 5, 2006

Ayatollah Ghilmeini (who is not an ayatollah, nor as far as I can tell a ghilmeini) has a great post: Open letter to Mel Gibson Dear Mr. Gibson, The road to forgiveness is paved with good deeds. If you want to some suggestions for a road ahead for you that will, perhaps find you the forgiveness you claim you seek, here are some: 1. Educate yourself on the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the central fact of the modern Jewish world, it is only been sixty years since it ended. I would suggest you spend a couple of days viewing the recorded testimonies that the Spielberg Foundation has archived. Then I suggest you visit the recently opened German Archives with a qualified scholar. Since money is no object to you, I would recommend you work with someone eminent in the field, Deborah Lipstadt or Daniel Goldhagen. from there your journey should go to Israel. I want you to visit the Christian sites there, because if your forgiveness is not structured in your faith, it will be worthless but I do ask that you note one thing: Israel, the Jewish state, permits worshipers of all faiths to visit their Holy sites. From there your road leads you to Yad Vashem, there I want you to view the archive of the names of the known victims of the holocaust. You cannot be forgiven until you know what you have done. Then you need to meet with some actual survivors and hear their stories first hand. You don't have to go to Israel's north to view the war but at this point you will finally understand what the current war is all about, who started it and why. After that, forgiveness is what you make of your life. And bring your dad, he needs the education more than you do. AG 9:32:48 AM