Acknowledging Quote by Omar El Akkad
““One day the killing will be over, either because the oppressed will have their liberation or because there will be so few left to kill. We will be expected to forget any of it ever happened, to acknowledge it if need be but only in harmless, perfunctory ways. Many of us will, if only as a kind of psychological self-defense. So much lives and dies by the grace of endless forgetting. But so many will remember. We say that, sometimes, when it's our children killed: Remember . And it may seem now like it's someone else's children, but there's no such thing as someone else's children. The problem with fixating on the abyss into which one's opponent has descended while simultaneously digging one's own is that, eventually, it gets too dark to tell the difference.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: American War by Omar El Akkad, 2017
The quote warns that cycles of violence persist until either liberation occurs or humanity is decimated, and that societies tend to forget atrocities, though remembrance is essential to prevent future horrors.
In simple terms: Violence continues until liberation or extinction; societies forget, but remembering matters.
Key Takeaway
Remember past atrocities to break cycles of forgetting.
Themes
memory
violence
history
remembrance
psychology
Mood
somber
reflective
urgent
Type
philosophical
political
warning
When to use this quote
- activism
- education
- policy making
- community healing
- intergenerational dialogue
Key Concepts
collective trauma
historical amnesia
ethical responsibility
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies balance remembering trauma with healing?
- What role does collective memory play in preventing future conflict?
A Different Perspective
Forgetting can be a coping mechanism, but may also enable repeat violence.
