The Ceremony II

"We are not perfect," Aron began, his tone shifting to seriousness after the customary greetings, causing many in the audience to raise their brows in curiosity.

"As humans, we’ve fought one another. We’ve killed, stolen, betrayed, and committed countless atrocities against each other." He paused, the weight of his words hanging in the air. People began to wonder if he regretted saying that or if he had been handed the wrong script.

But Aron pressed on, undeterred. "I’m not saying this to boast of our flaws or diminish humanity. I say this to make it clear—we are flawed individuals."

He continued, "Yes, we fought each other, but we also helped each other. Yes, we committed atrocities, but we also did better—so much so that those better actions overshadowed the worst. And, importantly, we learned. We learned from our mistakes and took steps to prevent them from happening again, or, if they did happen, to minimize the damage."