Resistance and Creativity in Social Interaction: For and Against Memory in Poland, Israel–Palestine, and the United States

In this paper, I present an analysis of Adam Michnik's notion of "Amnesty without Amnesia." His was a wise political judgment presented at a critical moment in the struggle to constitute a democratic polity in Poland. Mine is an appreciation of his political position, along with a sociological analysis that highlights the empirical difficulties of its realization in practical action. I will show how at critical moments of social change creative political action works to erase memories of the relevant past, which act as a repressive force, while "re-remembering" (to use Toni Morrison's formulation). Three cases will be compared, Michnik's, after the fall of the communist regime in east central Europe, and cases drawn from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the American presidential campaign.