Gerald R. Ford Quotes

Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past. Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity.

Justice is not Healing. Healing cometh only by suffering and patience, and maketh no demand, not even for Justice. Justice worketh only within the bonds of things as they are... and therefore though Justice is itself good and desireth no further evil, it can but perpetuate the evil that was, and doth not prevent it from the bearing of fruit in sorrow.

The message of reconciliation, of nation-building, of granting amnesty, indemnity, has struck a powerful, favorable chord. And people can understand that we're here not for purposes of retribution but to forget the past and to build our country.

I don't believe in vengeance. Really, when all is said and done, I probably don't believe in punishment.

Forgiveness is better than revenge

We can't continue with a justice of vengeance. Peace will require us to accept a certain degree of impunity; it's inevitable.

Today we have to learn all over again that love for the sinner and love for the person who has been harmed are correctly balanced if I punish the sinner in the form that is possible and appropriate.

An apology offered and, equally important, received is a step towards reconciliation and, sometimes, recompense. Without that process, hurts can rankle and fester and erupt into their own hatreds and wrongdoings.

I am not the only one who did not want revenge. Almost all my colleagues in prison did not want revenge, because there is no time to do anything else except to try and save your people.

Healing cannot be done by settling a score.

We do not celebrate the death of our enemies.

In the aftermath of any war or genocide, healing and reconciliation are ultimate aspirations.

Instead of a man of peace and love, I have become a man of violence and revenge.

There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.

Punishment cannot heal spirits, can only break them.

Redemption is possible, and it is the measure of a civilized society.

Some may seek revenge, but this is not our policy.

Amnesty is as good for those who give it as for those who receive it. It has the admirable quality of bestowing mercy on both sides.

The South is the home of 'an eye for an eye.' 'Turning the other cheek'? The South can't see that.

Truth commissions also allow perpetrators to be reintegrated into society and not go back into the bush to pick up their guns again.

Forgiveness is a basis for moral and ethical behavior.

You can’t build a united nation on the basis of revenge.

I'm a believer in forgiveness. I have worked with people who have been in gangs and now dedicate their lives to helping inner city kids. I've run offender services with teachings of responsibility, empathy and understanding of the victims at their heart. I've seen people change.

We are to love our enemies that they might be returned to their right minds.

I truly believe that we cannot come to a place of reconciliation until there is individual repentance and corporate repentance.