Forgive or Forget? Can we do both?

An Ethical dilemma to be sure. Can we forgive and forget? SHOULD we forgive and forget? Perhaps we should say forgive OR forget. If you forgive and forget you no longer have that warning of previous behavior. If you forget you wipe clean the memory of the event. If you forgive you absolve the offender of all responsibility for the act. Maybe its something that shouldn't be forgotten. Or forgiven. Case in point, The Holocaust. Should we forgive? Forget? What do we learn if we forget? what protection do we have that it wont happen again if we forget? If we forgive are we condoning the behavior? If you forgive your husband for stepping on your toe and forget it happened, what will happen later? Probably nothing. But if we forgive and forget something like what happened in Germany what will happen later? Are we giving someone the power to make it happen again? Forgiving and forgetting says we wipe it all under the rug and its as if it never happened. But it DID happen. CAN we sweep it under the rug? can we forget? what will this do to those who suffered in Nazi Germany? So maybe we should think twice before slinging some little phrase that we think means nothing. Telling someone to forgive and forget might not be in their best interest. or yours.