Hello. Please respond to the following prompt - twice. I would like you to log in and respond twice: once to the prompt, and once to someone else's prompt. If you would like to respond more than that, that's fine. Please complete all responses by 8 AM on Monday, April 2. Please sign your first name with the period you're in. The prompt has several different aspects to it - respond to what you feel or think most strongly about.
Prompt: Imagine everything you really care about is unjustly taken from you - your family, your friends, your reputation, your freedom. To what extent are you obligated to forgive those who took these precious things from you? To what extent would you go to seek revenge?
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If everything I loved was taken away from me, I would not be very forgiving. I think it would take a miracle for me to forgive those who hurt my family and complicated my life. I definitely think I would be very compelled to seek revenge and make them feel the pain they caused me. I know God says that we will be forgiven as we forgive others, but I would struggle with this. In one way I know that God has a plan for our lives which just might include losing everything. We need to be able to deal with hard situations. That being said I doubt I would be thinking rationally had someone just murdered my whole family. I think this would be a very difficult situation to deal with. As a Christian, I want to say I would do the right thing but given that situation I would probably be a bit vengeful.
Jesus forgave those who crucified him, so why shouldn't we? Easily said, but hard to carry out. If someone not only hurt me but the ones I love, yeah, I would be pretty upset and would want them to feel the pain that I felt. I would want to have revenge, but I know in the end I wouldn't do anything. And then there is forgiveness. I have heard stories about people who have had everything they love taken away from them, and somehow they still find forgiveness somewhere in their heart. I would like to think I would be that person, but I really don't know. I believe I would forgive them if they were sorry, which I know sounds kind of selfish, but really, if they are not sorry for the horrible things they did, I would have a really hard time forgiving them from the bottom of my heart. It's one thing to say sorry, but another to truly mean it. With this all being said, if I was really in the situation of having everything taken away from me, I might do something that others and myself never expected. In crazy situations, you could probably find yourself doing things that you thought were 'not you.' If everything was taken from me, maybe I would go 'Rambo' and shoot everything in my path just to get revenge. Or maybe, and preferably, I would be like Jesus and forgive those who hurt me, for they know not what they do. I prefer the second reaction, but in the end you never know what you are going to do or how you will react.
Mikaela Schmiett
per.4
Revenge is complicated. It is our natural human instinct to hurt those who have hurt us, but it is almost never a good option. Sometimes anger is just surging through our veins and their is nothing we can do to control it, but we need to take a step back and look on from another perspective. In "The Princess Bride" Indigo spends his whole life seeking revenge on the six-fingered man who killed his father. When he finally kills the villain, he realizes he has focused his whole life on revenge, and he feels empty. If someone took everything I have away from me, however, I doubt that I could forgive them. I certainly don't think I am obligated to forgive someone who has hurt me - just the opposite. I would have to choose to forgive someone who did this to me; it takes strength to rise above a situation like that. While hurting someone back may seem attractive in the moment, two wrongs do not make a right. Honestly, it would be hard for me to not seek revenge. But I'd like to think I have it in me to be able to forgive someone in such a drastic situation. Forgiveness is the best revenge.
Paul O
Period 7
I agree with Mikaela, we hope that we would react a certain way to tragedy but in the end would we really? I definitely agree that when people face tragedy they react in many ways. My neighbor was able to lift a car that was crushing her mother,though our reactions may not be that extreme, bad situations push people to do amazing things. I hope I am one of those people who remains calm in times of trouble and does not go crazy.
I also agree with Paul that revenge is complicated. I am a firm believer in the "see it from a different perspective" strategy. When people do bad things I always try to figure out what could have caused them to do it, and if my actions had affected them. I definitely think, like Paul, it would be hard not to get revenge. But above all I would try to keep my beliefs and morals in a horrible situation.
I forgot to put my name on the first post.Sorry
Elyse Jones
Period 7
Hey it's Sam. I'm just going to jump right into this. When people do things that hurt me or my family, it takes a while before i am truly ready to forgive them. If a person did something huge like taking everything from me, I would guess that I wouldn't be thinking in a level headed manner. The right thing to do would be to forgive the person and work something out with them, but if I was actually in that kind of a situation, I would be seeking revenge and trying to regain what I had lost. In a situation like that, the best thing to do, which can only be done with a level head, would be to forgive the person no matter what, but in real life, in that situation, almost everyone would go out against all odds to get their revenge.
Imagine that you are on the playground at school and a bully comes up to you and pushes you on the ground. What is the first thing that comes to mind? I would think about getting revenge on the bully. Revenge is something that people automatically think of when they loose something of theirs because of someone or something else. Even though it is my instinct to do, I don't believe that it is always the right option. In some cases, I think it is fine to get revenge if it is something that would really change your life. But in almost all other situations, the best thing to do is forgive the person and move on. The only problem is if you consistently forgive people that have taken things away from you, you will eventually be a target for the people that want to take advantage of you. This is a very hard question to answer but I think that the right answer is to know when to forgive and get revenge on other people.
Dash Anderson
Period 4
I agree with Sam in that it depends on the situation if someone should get their revenge or if they should be forgiving. I also agree with him that if someone took everything away from me, it would be pretty hard to resist not getting your revenge. It is very true when he explains what the best thing to do is and how if you were actually in the situation, you would probably act differently. Overall, I had to agree with almost all that he said about this topic.
Dash Anderson
Period 4
Revenge is like rotten candy persay. It is so enticing that you chase after it, but once you grasp it and taste it you get an awful taste in your mouth and you regret chasing that candy in the first place. Revenge seems so sweet but sometimes you waste so much energy on revenge that once you get it you don't know what to do anymore. You can lose yourself in a moment, but true courage and character should lead us away from temptation and straight to forgiveness.
Thomas Ashton
period 6
I also think that Paul couldn't have put it better when he said, "Honestly, it would be hard for me not to seek revenge. But I'd like to think I have it in me to be able to forgive someone in such a drastic situation. Forgiveness is the best revenge."
I agree completely becuase I would like to think I would't seek revenge but you never know until the time comes to prove your yourslef. It's our natural instict but one that should be avoided becuase revenge is a bittersweet reward that you almost never brings you satisfaction.
Also on previous post i put wrong period number. I am in seventh period
Thomas A period 7
Knowing that you had nothing left that was once a part of you and made you who you are, how could you be forgiving? How would you feel waking up to nothing? And just knowing that the only thing you are waking up to is the sorrow and the pain thinking that the person who did all this to you is still living their life of happiness, that you won't ever be able to experience again. Yes, everyone who's pointing out that God says to be forgiving is correct. But none of us will ever be as big of a person as God, and if you were put in that situation really think about it, you wouldn't be able to look that person in the eye. You wouldn't be able to say "I forgive you for taking EVERYTHING away from me." I would like to think I am capable of it, but in all honesty, I know I am not. As a Christian, I will work harder to become the kind of person who could forgive someone who ruined my life.
Rachel Gondrezick
Period 7
I don't mean to condirict myself but I also agree with Thomas. The initial feeling of getting someone back is such a good feeling...until it actually happens. You finally realize the bad taste and you can't do anything about it. But, then again I also believe what Paul said is a smart way to approach it. Sometimes, forgiveness is the best revenge, and it that is what it takes to make someone feel better about what they did, more power to you.
Rachel Gondrezick
Period 7
If one day someone just took everything away from me, I would look for revenge. Even if it isn't the right thing to do. And I am sure many would agree. As for forgiveness, I would try to be as understanding as possible, but if everything was taken away from, what have you really got lose. If your dignity your friends your reputation and your family are all taken away, you really do not have anything to lose so it would be easier to seek revenge then forgive others for what they have done. Revenge is an attempt to turn shame into pride, and if your really ashamed all you want is your pride back.
I also agree with Elyse and Mikaela when I say as a Christian that we should forgive those that hurt us, but it really is hard when you are at a low and feel like everyone is against you. We should forgive those who hurt us like Jesus did. I also agree with Paul though when he says revenge is a natural instint. We as humans don't like pain and we feel that the only way to get rid of it is through revenge.
I have to agree with Dash here. While forgiving people is probably the right thing to do, if you forgive everyone for everything, you gain a reputation of never doing anything. Getting this reputation is pretty much just painting a target on your chest for people who would wrong you. There obviously has to be a balance between mercy and justice, but that is a very difficult line to draw.
I like Sam and Dash's idea of knowing when to forgive someone and when to seek revenge. Sometimes revenge can be a little thing, but it could be something terrible and drastic like murder. We should never seek that kind of revenge. In response to Dash's example of a bully, I think that it is better to show kindness than violence. While there are situations when seeking revenge is not a bad option, I still maintain that revenge is almost never desireable. The key though, is to look at your issues with people in a level-headed manner with as little emotion as possible. This way you can be certain you have made the right decision. Usually that is forgiveness. You should never seek revenge in the form of something like murder.
In order to forgive someone, I think it is vital to understand what prompted them to do the thing that hurt you in the first place. By understanding and empathizing with the person, you can see their actions in a different light, and it is much easier to forgive them. However, if everything I cared about was taken from me, I don't think I would be able to understand the other person's actions. Whether becasue their motives were too scewed or simply because I couldn't see past my grief, I would probably hate that person for the rest of my life. That said, I doubt I would be impeled to not only plan, but exact revenge on whoever hurt me. I would have no problem deciding what I wanted to do to hurt them, but when faced with actual prospect of carrying it out, I don't know if my motivation would carry me that far.
I liked Thomas' comparison to revenge and rotten candy. It's true that revenge can seem very enticing when you are first tempted to exact it, but once you have committed the deed you are left feeling awful, either from guilt or not getting the satisfaction you expected. Forgiveness is the correct path to take, but in certain situations, especially one as drastic as losing everything you cared about, it would be near impossible to follow that path.
Like what Thomas said, Paul couldn't have said it any other better way, "Forgiveness is the best revenge." And the more I think of it, the more I see how that is true. But the only way I could see it really be revenge and hurting the other person back, is if the person was sorry for what they did. Like if I did a bunch of awful things, and I was truly sorry for what I had done, I would feel even more sorry and horrible if the person forgave me. They would have shown that they are the bigger person. I know they would probably want to 'get back at me' for what ever I did, but forgiving a person is so much bigger, so much more unexpected, that the 'bad' person would never know what hit them.
Above comment by: Mikaela Schmiett
per. 4
Its hard to think about what i would do if suddenly everything was taken from me. There is the revenge part of course, anger and depression, but when you ask me if i could forgive, I don't know exactly what to say. I had just lost everything and i was asked to forgive the person who took it from me would be a challenge. Honestly i couldn't do it. There is no extent of where i could forgive them. The person would have to pay for trying to hurt me. I would have revenge. The revenge would not end in death for my victim, but they would wish for death. First I would have to start by taking everything they had just as they took it from me. You would need to humiliate them and make sure they end up in a dark place for a long, long time. If you just forgave the person, then they don't learn anything. I guess what I'm trying to say is revenge is my type of forgiveness to the person who took my life and destroyed it.
anthony palmer
period 4
Thomas has said in his blog that you would feel terrible after your revenge actions. I beg to differ with this because why would you feel bad if that same person ruined your life. They left you to basically die and stole what you worked for. After i took revenge i would feel relief that i knew that the person who tried to take me off the map now could feel what they did wrong. I think that you wouldn't feel awful, but the person who your taking revenge on would realize they ruined your life. Thomas may be correct in saying you feel guilty, but you have to or the person just simply gets away with it.
Forgiving someone who has wronged us is hard to do in any situation, especially if it extends to our family and not just us. For this reason, I think forgiveness should be earned, and even then it would probably take time for the wound to heal. I personally would be very angry at first and almost enter a sort of "blind" rage, and just be very angry all around. For me, forgiveness would take a long time, if I ever forgave him or her. Revenge is also something that i would consider, as i would imagine most of us doing. Revenge may seem like a good option, as if it would solve everything, but i think in the end revenge wouldn't change the facts. It wouldn't right the wrongs that were done to you or your family. So, in the end, forgiveness is the best option as well as the hardest.
Hale Rodgers
Period 4
I agree with Dash when he says that you have to be able to tell when to choose between forgiveness and revenge. Revenge is often time our first reaction to someone, but it is definitely often times not the best response. But on the other hand, as Dash says, if you consistently forgive people and not stick up for yourself, you may start becoming a target. People will start viewing you as weak. All in all, I agree with Dash.
If someone brought harm to my family, or if I lost everything I cared about, then I wouldn't be a very happy camper. I would be very furious for a very long time. As far as revenge goes, I would go as far as necessary to get even with whoever caused it. When it comes to the people and things I love I am not usually a very forgiving person, I tend to only find true satisfaction if I got even. The only time where you would get only forgiveness is if what happened didn't make a significant difference.
Matt K.
Period 4
I agree with Dillon when he said, "As for forgiveness, I would try to be as understanding as possible, but if everything was taken away from, what have you really got lose." I know that as Christians we are supposed to forgive and forget, but when the people and things I love come into play, I take it really personal. As I said in my first post, I believe I would only have true satisfaction if I were even.
I don't believe in revenge because if I were to take a step back and look at myself, I could not honestly say that I have never made a mistake. God made us human and humans make mistakes that is what makes us so interesting. If my family, friends and reputation were taken from me of course I would be mad and upset, but to go down to that persons level and take revenage it is just helping that person have satisfaction, when in fact the best revenge you could take is moving on and dealing with it.
Claire C period 3
When Anthony says that there is no way that you could forgive someone, I just have to think, what if I were in their shoes. I mean there are so many circumstances in which someone would do this to you, but I cannot think of one that would make me unable to ever forgive someone. It is responsible to say that it would take some time and effort, but being mad at someone for you whole life, seems like you would almost have to work at it, then that takes away the meaning.
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