I'm Argumentative in Nature

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."
-John F. Kennedy

In one day, terrorism took 2,996 lives. Waves of physical, social, and economic devastation expanded from the epicenter of Lower Manhattan,  caused by an unprecedented act of terror. Ten years and three months later, such an emotional event begs the question, can we ever forgive...   wait... urrr... what's their name?

Could you imagine? Forgetting the name of the most-talked terrorist group in history? Al-Qa'ida. How catastrophic of consequences would follow if George W. Bush, or any other government official, stumbled over those three syllables. Yeah, it's a what if, but it's a great illustration of the power behind a name.

Here's a lesson embedded into my brain, courtesy of my brothers. People like hearing their names. It's nice being greeted with a name instead of a hey. Believe it or not, calling that special someone by that arrangement of letters given to them at birth, is more effective than a simple babe. Hearing a name stimulates your brain, a fact that has been determined by numerous brain scans.

Is he telling us that forgetting terrorist organization #1's name may hurt their feelings?

Yeah. Pretty much. Even though saying a name may show some level of respect at a time when disrespect is the only thing manifesting in your thoughts, at least remember the name. For everyone's sake.

I find it particularly interesting that JFK said this quote. President in the early 1960's, I believe he had the greatest lasting impact in matters of forgiveness. The Peace Corps started in 1961, and has since sent over 200,000 Americans to 139 countries. Service is the perfected form of forgiveness.