a lost opportunity for forgiveness

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While the passing of four years has mitigated our shock and sadness, one sensation remains strong: the sense that the world around us has changed — for the worse. Simply, our world is now a more fearful and hateful place. On the evening of that fateful day, when President George W. Bush spoke to his nation and promised that those responsible for the horrific destruction would be pursued with "unyielding anger" his goal was to reassure the American people. He wanted them to be comforted knowing that justice would be done; that retribution would be swift and severe.

But what if he had made a different choice that evening?

What if instead of launching the first salvo in his so-called "War on Terror," Bush had actually let his Christian faith (of which he so often speaks) guide his actions? What if his first message to those responsible for the evil acts was not "we will find you" but instead "we forgive you"?

Critics will argue that such a declaration would have led to riots in the streets. Fired by revenge and fear, Americans would have screamed for Bush to be removed as head of state; the more extreme would have advocated for the removal of Bush's head itself. And even if reaction from those at home could have been quelled, critics will argue that reaction from hostile forces abroad would have posed a more serious threat. Enemy nations and rogue states would have viewed the President's offer of forgiveness as a sign of weakness and assumed that acts of terrorism could be committed with impunity. Attacks would have become more numerous and heinous.

That's what critics will argue.

I believe that had President Bush, leader and spokesperson for the most powerful country in the world, offered forgiveness to those who planned and carried out the attacks of Sept. 11, it would have led to the most significant shift ever toward world peace.

Instead of riots in the streets of America I believe there would have been a revelation in the hearts of Americans. Psychologists, communication and cultural theorists have long been aware of a phenomenon known as cognitive dissonance, which refers to the mental and emotional discomfort people feel when confronted with a discrepancy between what they say they believe and the actions they are performing. The discomfort of this discrepancy is alleviated only when the person either changes his belief to better fit with his actions or changes his actions to better fit with his beliefs. Most humans have a strong need for consistency between their beliefs and their actions and cannot stay in a state of cognitive dissonance for long.

About 85 per cent of Americans call themselves Christians and nine out of 10 say their faith is "very important" or "fairly important in their lives." While many of these professed Christians don't have a deep understanding of their own faith, the doctrine that Christians must forgive those who do harm to them is something even new converts know. It is one of Jesus' central teachings. In the Gospel of Matthew, for example, Jesus makes it clear that one's own salvation is contingent on one's ability to forgive others saying, "For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."

According to the principles of cognitive dissonance, had the Christians in America heard their President offer forgiveness to the 9/11 terrorists, they would have been compelled to support and join in his action or abandon the very essence of their spiritual beliefs. Since 90 per cent of Americans say their faith anchors their life, it seems highly unlikely they would have cut the rope that holds them secure. Instead, I believe Americans would have begun to take their faith much more seriously; they would have moved from being only "hearers of the word" to "doers of the word." In particular and most important, Jesus' controversial message of love even for one's enemies would finally have been accepted at face value. There is no telling what miracles would have followed.

To argue that an offer of forgiveness from President Bush would have been perceived as weakness and thus would have led to more attacks overlooks some key facts. Terrorists are not like serial killers and other mass murders who commit their crimes simply for the emotional rush. Most terrorists have a strong ethical code. They know and respect the value of human life — at least as it applies to their family, friends and members of their own communities. They are able to perform the evil deeds because they have convinced themselves that those they kill are, in fact, less than human.

Had words of forgiveness been on the lips of President Bush he would have proven the terrorists wrong: he would have invalidated their rationale for murder. It's said that one is most human when one is most humane. Next to selfless compassion, forgiveness is the greatest example of humanity. Around the world enemies of the United States would have been incapacitated by their own case of cognitive dissonance as they were forced to admit: Americans are human after all. As their beliefs about Americans changed, so too would their actions have changed.

While I don't think one offer of forgiveness four years ago would have solved America's security problem once and for all, had such a declaration been made I am convinced the world would have been greatly changed for the better.

Forgiveness is to hate as water is to fire.

The U.S. claim to world military superiority has not been enough to keep it safe. Sadly, we will never know if a genuine claim to moral superiority would have proven more effective.

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David Haskell is an assistant professor of journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University.