Virginia Governor Ralph Northam
refuses to resign after an
alleged picture of him in
black face surfaced.
Northam at first said the
picture was a mistake and
then later said the picture
was not him at all. He did
admit to trying to portray
Michael Jackson.
According to
Media reports almost
everyone has called for
Northam to resign as
Governor. Northam
denies being a racist and
admits that he has made
some mistakes in the past.
He attests there is nothing
about who he is today that
is racist and that he is
inclusive of all people.
At this writing
Northam's future as governor
appears bleak with
high powered democrats
in his state and even
nationally calling for his
resignation.
Did Northam
commit the unpardonable
sin? Do we as Americans
have unpardonable sins?
We certainly do not forgive
murder in America
as people are executed or
spend life in prison.
Robbing, stealing from
people also carry severe
penalties. Illegal drug use
and trafficking send people
to prison. There are
crimes that carry severe
penalties in our country
and around the world.
However, what if
your employer decides to
terminate you because of
something you did thirty
years ago? What if you
had an abortion when you
were 18? What if a photograph
surfaces of you
dancing on a table somewhere
shows up? What if
you used some vulgar
language on social media
five years ago? What if
you stole a cookie out of
the cookie jar at your
neighbor's house or took a
quarter off someone's
desk? The truth is we
have all done something
or a few things we probably
regret. I wonder how
many people in America
have been disrespectful to
their parents? What about
the times we told our
teachers that the dog ate
our homework? How
many times have we let
gossip slip out of our
mouths? Are you really
safe from the past disrupting
your life and career
today? Apparently not.
Everyone is in jeopardy it
seems.
Most all of us
know we have messed up
in the past in some form.
People today go through
multiple marriages and
relationships knowing
mistakes were made. We
go through jobs and
careers knowing that
looking back we could
have done some things
differently. We look back
through times of high
school, college and young
adult life knowing that if
we had another chance we
would likely do some
things differently.
Is there no room
for grace and forgiveness
in America? What about
when a person says, "I
have messed up and
made mistakes but that's
not who I am today." Is
there no room in America
for redemption, a new
start with old things being
put behind?
If we can never
overcome our failures,
sins and shortcomings in
America then we are surely
a doomed society.
Oliver Cromwell was
right when he said, "If we
forget the past we are condemned
to repeat it."
However, if we cannot
forgive the past we can
never outlive it. |