Stories to Pass On

Genocide, mass murder, human acts of atrocity: they say.

Yogurt said: "But you know. Those things were awful. Terrible. Abominable. And people suffered a lot because of them. They still continue to suffer. Sometimes, animals and plants and fish and stars, too."

Yogurt cried.

Yogurt then said: "But if you highlight people's suffering too much, their suffering because of the genocides, mass murders, and human acts of atrocity, then someone in the future is bound to commit those terrible acts again."

Yogurt said: "You know why? Because human hate knows no bounds. When humans learn that killing and burning can bring about so much suffering, for a while, they will know compassion. But when they are suddenly provoked, and believe they are in danger, they will want to retaliate very aggressively - justly or unjustly, it hardly matters. And if they know that bombing, slashing, cutting, and pillaging will somehow relieve them of their stress, their own inner suffering, their bonds that they can no longer stand, they will really bomb and slash and cut and pillage."

Yogurt added: "Here is the contradiction. Stories of suffering must be passed down. But too much of that breeds more violence. The knowledge of the suffering of others can turn murderous. And yet, stories of resilience are also dangerous. Perpetrators of violence would overestimate their victims' capacity to survive."

So what ought to be passed on, then, is this very conundrum: "Which stories to pass on, and why?"

With the knowledge that not all stories can be passed on. The Ark has a limited hold. Doesn't it?