Quote:

         “It’s painfully apparent that the United States needs a national truth commission of some kind to address hundreds of years of injustice suffered by Black Americans. There, centuries of enslavement, state-sponsored racism, denial of civil rights and ongoing economic and social disparity have yet to be addressed” (Ibhawoh.)

 Comment:

         This quote comes from the very end of the piece Bonny Ibhawoh wrote entitled “Do truth and reconciliation commissions heal divided nations?” Before this quote is brought into the article Ibhawoh defines what a truth commission is and provided examples of different nations that have utilized such a tool after certain events; examples included South Africa and Canada. He concludes the article by discussing his own personal belief and view point of the necessity for a national truth commission in the United States of America. It would seem that in his view, America needs help healing in order move forward and grow stronger. He expresses that this can be done in any nation by creating a “permanent, public memorialization that inoculates the future against the mistakes of the past.”

         I chose this quote specifically because the concept of a truth commission or reconciliation commission sparked my interest. Being in the educational field and having worked quite extensively with young children I have come to the conclusion that we as humans are wonderful at talking the talk but not walking the walk. What I mean to say is we teach our youth to use our words to work through disagreements and apologize sincerely for our wrong doings, however it seems that we rarely are able to follow through with such rules in adulthood. If there is a disagreement on the playground it is custom for a teacher to have both parties involved explain each of their perspectives and then talk through how one might have harmed the other. After this occurs, the students are often allowed to continue playing without a second thought about the incident.

         Though I do realize that national and international disputes are on a much larger scale than a squabble on an elementary school playground, but I think that there is something to be learned here. The best way for kids to find closure and rebuild friendships is by talking about conflict in an attempt to reform their ways. That being said I would like to agree with Ibhawoh when he calls for a reconciliation commission in the US and in other countries. I believe that acknowledging, discussing, and learning from disputes and struggles is the best way to create permanent and lasting change in society.

Question:

         Is it possible for all disputes to be solved by reconciliation commissions? If not when might such a tool not be advised?