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--
Read by the Governor General of New Zealand at the 50th anniversary celebration
of VJ Day,
at Wellington Cathedral, Wellington NZ
"Reconciliation
begins with forgiveness-
when the question of who was right
and who was wrong ceases to matter.
Reconciliation blossoms
when we look into the eyes of those
who were our enemies and recognize ourselves.
Reconciliation has a chance
when difference is not challenged but
celebrated; when what we have in common becomes more exciting
than telling over in loud self-righteous certainty the points on which we
disagree.
Reconciliation becomes a living
reality
when people of all nations, with
their unique perspectives and particular points of view,
work together for justice and
liberation for all people;
when the limits of our compassion are
the outer boundaries of all that we know and understand,
all that we dream of and imagine.
But in the end, we will be truly
reconciled when you are as important to me as I am to myself."
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