Amnesty, as a terminology, is mostly used in the world of politics and there, it is defined as the obtaining of a general pardon, especially for someone who’s committed a political crime. It can also be said to be a period during which crimes can be admitted or illegal weapons handed in- without getting prosecuted!
This
is closely, yet aloofly related to amnesia, a medical case in which there is a
definitive loss of memory, as a result of shock, injury, psychological disturbance
and it could also be a pointer to a medical disorder.
It
is worthy of note, that these two terms are derived from the same Greek root,
and so, are quite related.
In
fact, I think, in spite of the fact that amnesty has to be justifiable and
though amnesia could be a pain-numbing exercise in which one could engage in-
sort of like a personal dream land; amnesia could indeed be the first step towards
‘healthy’ amnesty.
However,
from my point of view, there are times when one has to wisely ‘climb out of the
pit’ of amnesia, even when granting amnesty. Thus, wisdom is highly valuable as
it helps censure one’s moves in such an amnesty-ic occasion.
The
crux of the matter, is that, paraphrasing the words of Prof. Wole Soyinka, the chronic
concession of amnesty cannot extend that far, not even in an individual with
self-censured memory!
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