This post contains mild spoilers for the film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”.
There is a scene in the (very entertaining) film Forgetting Sarah Marshall where the protagonist, played by Jason Segel, is dismayed to learn that his ex-girlfriend, played by Kristen Bell with whom he is on the verge of reconciling with, did not merely leave him for another man but had been carrying on a secret affair with him for a year. This obviously puts their reconciliation on hold.
This reminded me of something I find to be an interesting question. In all aspects of human affairs, the question of truth versus reconciliation often presents itself. Nearly all people, all groups, and all nations are guilty of numerous transgressions both in history and in the present. And many, if not most, of those transgressions are unknown; like Sarah Marshall, people, groups and nations will attempt to conceal the bad things they have done.
The problem is this: the truth about these things generally makes reconciliation more difficult. In the movie, this is presented as a good thing: Bell is supposed to be not only someone who wronged Segel, but an inferior mate for him than Mila Kunis’ character, a hotel hospitality worker.