As many followers of independent media have become aware, the United States, and really the world entirely, have fallen victim to an onslaught of mass corruption at almost all levels of society. There is almost no large-scale institution that has not been infiltrated and used as a tool by the elite moneyed interests to further their stranglehold on power. This is not really a secret anymore, as the free flow of information across the Internet has begun to shine a bright light on all the hidden aspects of corruption that were previously never a part of public awareness.
The question that now must be asked is how does society move forward from here, knowing there is massive corruption, and that something must be done about it?
One proposed solution is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is defined by Wikipedia as,
“A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. Truth commissions are, under various names, occasionally set up by states emerging from periods of internal unrest, civil war, or dictatorship. In both their truth-seeking and reconciling functions, truth commissions have political implications: they “constantly make choices when they define such basic objectives as truth, reconciliation, justice, memory, reparation, and recognition, and decide how these objectives should be met and whose needs should be served.”
Obviously there is a lot to discuss when it comes to such an idea, such as who enforces it, would it naturally become corrupted, and is it even just to forgive/pardon people who have committed atrocious crimes against humanity? It is not an easy topic to debate and there will undoubtedly be many different opinions when it comes to such a concept. However, at some point there needs to be a public disclosure about all the dirty agendas that have been allowed to persist behind the scenes, as well as a medium in which all the dirty laundry from the past can be aired out for all to see. On the same token, there must also be a period of forgiveness, because if there’s not, the cycle of violence just continually perpetuates back and forth since neither will give in.
To bring this topic more into the open, Tim and Jay discuss the complex thoughts that come with such a notion, and whether it’s a good idea to consider as a possible solution. The goal is not necessarily to take a side, but rather to have an honest conversation on whether this is a reasonable step toward peace. This is a sensitive topic for which people will need a variety of opinions, so feel free to drop a comment with your thoughts.
