In No Future Without Forgiveness, Desmond Tutu tells the story of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), formed to address the countless crimes against humanity committed on all sides in apartheid's dark history. Rather than burden the new nation with potentially endless criminal trials, wherein the accused are constrained to defend themselves against the threat of imprisonment and victims can only expect state-mandated retribution as a form of justice, the TRC gave victims and the accused the opportunity to simply tell their stories. Tutu shows how letting victims and perpetrators face each other as humans fostered courageous acts of penitence and forgiveness that serve as symbols for their nation and the world.
Tutu offers a faith-filled, largely positive portrait of the work of the TRC, but does not gloss over real barriers to true reconciliation.
This is a book that more Americans should take seriously, especially in light of the growing national spectre of racism -- that destructive spirit in our closet that demands justice for its victims and reconciliation for its offended.