According to Google, mercy is "compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm." For me, mercy is a complicated subject. Sometimes it seems that the person does not deserve mercy or that it would be naive of me to forgive them when they could easily harm me again. When examining mercy vs. punishment, I found that fear is the main reason why I do not forgive or have mercy on other people. For that reason, I chose to utilize this project as a means of tackling one of the most feared aspects of my life...my dad. Our relationship is strained to say the least. We have not spoken in 17 years. Through this project, I sought to work through the fear I have in relation to him with the hope that I could come to a point where I could show mercy and forgiveness.
The newspaper, Mercy, is separated into three main articles. I chose a newspaper because a large portion of my writing is centered around what my dad has missed in the past 17 years. Therefore, every aspect of my life is "news" to him. In addition to discussing what he missed, the three featured articles also address the difficult battle between mercy and punishment. The newspaper closes with providing acknowledgement and thanks to the people in my life that have and will continue to help me in this endeavor to find peace and healing through mercy.
Photography Credit (Product Shots): Audra Lynne Creative
http://www.audralynnecreative.com