When I had spent months working with Viktor Frankl I was dumbfounded by his lack of hostility toward the Nazis.One day I asked” Viktor how can you not hate the Nazis”?He placed his hand on my shoulder and said”Salvatore they stole my wife,my parents,my relatives,my homeland and my occupation.I am not naive and saw things beyond human comprehension but if I hated them what would I have left? Hatred always runs its course and love is more powerful than hatred.”I could not believe his response because it was at a level of humanity far above what I thought was possible.
Yesterday in a Charleston courtroom despite unimaginable grief I witnessed that same level of humanity. The loved ones of the murdered somehow found it in their hearts to pray and forgive the one that had changed their lives forever.With so much hatred in the world I am grateful to Viktor and those wonderful people in Charleston who remind me that love and caring in the long run create meaning despite the circumstances.