美劇《芝加哥警署》已經來到第7季,戲中故事講述芝加哥警署第21轄區的情報組辦理的案件。情報組的組長Hank Voight是非常有經驗的警員,帶領其隊員打擊芝加哥的罪犯。
第7季第5集中,情報組的Kim的前男友Roman的妹妹Sarah是個吸毒者,然後去世了。Roman給了一段感人的悼文(eulogy):
My sister Sarah, She died alone in a ditch. Temperature was minus 4 degrees. One could imagine how scared she was. How alone she was. Growing up, my sister was never alone. Uh, she was always surrounded by her friends, cousins, kids from down the block, kids I didn’t even know where the hell… heck they came from. You know, they’d just be there. In the kitchen one day, drinking pop out of a two liter, waiting for my sister. She drew people to her because she was warm. She was lovely, and she was always herself. Strong and stubborn. She was a fighter. When they found her, my sister had scratches on her hands and knees from crawling, from fighting. But there was no one there to save her. She screamed for help, but no one heard her. She was screaming weeks before. Sarah needed help. But I wasn’t there for her.
“Whoever conceals his transgression will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” Proverb 28.13. If you ask me, that’s a lie. You can’t just recite a passage, say a few Hail Marys, then wash away your sins. And we shouldn’t be able to. We should be required to carry around our sins for the rest of our years. All the pain and guilt too. We need to feel them, so we can do better next time. So that we can be there the next time someone screams for help.
這段悼文有意思之處是Roman指聖經宣導一個人懺悔(告解)就會得到寬恕,是一個謊言。他認為我們不應該忘記自己的罪惡。我們做錯事就要在我們有生之年帶著罪惡、痛苦、愧疚活下去,這樣才能提醒我們要做更好的人。