Abstract
This article interprets John Sayles' 1996 film Lone Star as a reflection on how a community whose history is steeped in violence, such as the US, should seek to manage its difficult cultural memory. A conceptual triad of love, justice, and tragedy utilised to interpret the film's last line, ‘Forget the Alamo.’ It is concluded that the memory of a troubled past can only serve as the basis for responsible public life when we, like the characters in Lone Star, choose to remember with a charity that liberates both our ancestors and our selves from having to play out the roles of hero or villain.