All of us probably have done things, maybe even some really despicable, illegal things, in our lives. Some of us have paid for them by spending time behind bars. Others, who haven't been caught, may have lived with guilt and shame for years. Most religions have some way to forgive us our "sins." I've been thinking about this a lot this past week, as the McCain/Palin campaign again surfaced Obama's connection in the 1990s with 1960s radical Bill Ayers.
Today, Slate.com ran a great piece about Ayers,written by David S. Tanenhaus, and how the writer met him in Chicago, about the same time as did Obama. By then, Ayers was a college professor, an author on juvenile justice whose expertise has helped shape best practices with juveniles today, and a man who practices what he preaches by teaching poetry to at-risk kids. Ayers sounds like the kind of guy I'd like to know.
So, how long do we pull our baggage along behind us? The Republicans have made great noise about being the party of family values, religion, ethics. Yet, if you're a Christian, isn't one of the main tenets to learn to forgive? I don't know everything about Ayers, so perhaps he's not been repentent, which could hurt him. But, he's living a good life, bringing value to the community. Yes, Ayers messed up. Broke the law. Put people in danger. He was a 1960s radical protesting the Viet Nam War. Lots of good people crossed the line during that time: their passion caused them to cross a line. We shouldn't forget, but can't we begin to forgive?
Why, keep beating a drum that no one wants to hear? The first time around this topic, once people learned the truth: that Obama was in elementary school when Ayers was setting off pipe bombs. That he served on a board of a community agency with Ayers, and Ayers had hosted a fundraising breakfast. None of these things in my view equates with conspiring with terrorists. If Ayers was a terrorist, he wouldn't be living in Chicago, teaching and doing community work. He'd been in Pakistan or the Middle East, or in a host of other places where terrorists are plotting against the U.S.
So, Sarah Palin: get over it. You're beating a dead drum. Move on and start talking about the economy. Or better yet, Troopergate.
