the "forgetting" pill

I was watching this television show the other night where these doctors had invented a pill that, if taken at least 72 hours after, can help you forget an incident. In this episode, the father wanted to let the daughter take the pill so she could forget her minister raped her. The mother didn’t want the child to take the pill. She never really fully explained why, but I gather it was not because she was unsympathetic. One of her arguments was bad and good things shape who you are in the end. I get that, but there are some bad things that people can do without – and he or she would still come out just fine.

While the thought of using a pill to forget things seems a bit daunting, I can’t help but think what if it was for a good reason? The mother can’t possibly know what her daughter went through. I’m sure she feels like none of her family or friends really understands her, because the truth is no one does. The daughter has an option to get out of something she didn’t want in the first place. We have the morning-after pill for those who had the option to use a condom or for those whose condom broke. So why can’t there be a option for her? Especially since the daughter had no other options in anything else. She couldn’t choose whether or not to be taken advantage of. She didn’t choose to be reminded of it every night when she has nightmares. It’s not fun being able to remember some things. Sometimes you’d rather just die than go through thoughts of something that traumatic – not knowing how long it’s going to haunt you. Not knowing if you will ever feel clean again. Not knowing if that feeling of wanting to jump out of your skin will ever go away. If it meant it would make even some of the pain go away it would be worth it. If I had the choice I’d take it in a heart beat.