War and Reconciliation in 2020
--- Dachau Memorial Sculpture 1968 It starts in the family and spreads to all humanity. After Mercy and Forgiveness , Reconciliation is the next necessary step to 2020 A Year Without War . Part religious sacrament, part family legacy, part civic virtue, reconciliation is our conscious choice to actively “…forgive those who trespass against us” . But it can’t merely be a mental attitude. Actions are required to restore peace and harmony between divided peoples. The ‘Prodigal Son’ parable is the most famous religious context where father and son are reconciled over the objection of other relatives. Famously depicted in art, sculpture even parks, numerous acts of reconciliation have guided human history away from feuding families to warring nations. Here are just a few over the centuries c.1510 - Il Figlio Prodigo / The Prodigal Son , Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (Netherlands). By Hieronymus Bosch [c1450-1516]. 1855 - The