The White House Insults People of Faith & DeSantis Destroys 4th Graders' Art for Being Too Political
September 5, 2025
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Another popular quote that means the opposite of what people who say it think it means.
Florida crosswalk wars take DeSantis’ ‘war on woke’ to street level: DeSantis lies directly to the public and Floridians put up with it, even though it puts their lives and their children’s lives at risk.
Trump calls for death penalty for D.C. murder cases: Trump lies directly to the public and Americans put up with it. There’s a disturbing pattern forming.
Kareem’s Video Break: If I could dance like this, I’d do it every day.
Condemned by Their Own Words: White House Press Apologist insults people of faith by insinuating they’re too dumb to fix problems.
What I’m Watching: Action Movies: Nobody 2 and Honey Don’t! are entertaining action movies. Caught Stealing is smug and forgettable.
Kareem the Science Guy: A flying car and a flying motorcycle bring us a step closer to my Jetsons fantasy.
Kareem’s Magical Moments in Sports: An inspiring story of an athlete who wouldn’t quit—even when her coach gave up on her.
Mary Wells Sings “The One Who Really Loves You”: “The Queen of Motown” brings all the soul you could want to this R&B classic.
Kareem’s Daily [Anti-]Quote
I forgive, but I don’t forget.
Common phrase
I shake my head every time I hear someone say this because they don’t realize they’re saying the opposite of what they think they’re saying. When someone utters this sentence, they hope to come across as a thoughtful person with enough moral depth to forgive, but also to be seen as not weak and easily taken advantage of. That sends the mixed message that forgiveness is a weakness, rather than the greatest of strengths.
Forgiveness is at the very core of most civilizations, though we all struggle with the concept. The ability to forgive those who have hurt us is considered the ultimate level of human development because it puts the spiritual plane above the material world. This is similar to Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5:39-41 about turning the other cheek if someone strikes you, or giving them your cloak if they want your tunic.
“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.”
He meant that the physical world is temporary but the soul is immortal, so we should be acting to cultivate the soul over the body, the spiritual over the material. Most of us try to find some balance between the two, in which we develop our compassion, but not to the exclusion of our own survival.
To forgive is to wipe the slate clean, allowing that person to start fresh without worrying about the baggage of past acts. So, when someone says they forgive but don’t forget, they are declaring that they aren’t really forgiving: they are just being magnanimous in ignoring whatever slight was committed against them. By announcing they won’t forget the slight, they are implying a lack of trust and a threat of retaliation if it happens again. It’s like loaning a friend money but reminding them how generous you are and that you’ll keep watching them to make sure they repay you.
You might say that it is foolish to forgive and forget. If we forgot the damage done to us, we’d be forever repeating the same mistakes. John F. Kennedy emphasized this point when he said, “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” Well, no one truly forgets a harm done to them. But by making a point of announcing you have no intention of forgetting the hurt, you also make it clear that your forgiveness is provisional, and therefore not true forgiveness.
As Desmond Tutu said, “Forgiving is not forgetting; it's actually remembering—remembering and not using your right to hit back.” Forgiving is a way to unburden yourself from carrying around the enormous weight of a grudge that drags you down with each step and each thought. Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. It takes commitment to forgive, because it goes against our base desire for revenge. Personally, I don’t forgive everyone: but when I do, I do so without equivocation, or it’s not really forgiving, just virtue signaling.
No one is obliged to forgive. If you don’t want to, then don’t. But don’t pretend forgiveness while still clutching your grudge with the veiled threat, “I don’t forget.”