Redemption After a Scandal
Misdeeds, scandals, and nasty wrongdoings seem weekly fodder for 24/7 news. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation got me to thinking and saying to myself…
“Ya gotta wonder.”
Often, redemption after a scandal (with or without a confession or jail time) comes packaged in a tell-all book. Then a high-profile interview or two. And, if you’re really on the Cash-in-on-a-Scandal Express, six-figure speaking engagements will keep you and your agent in the top money-earning 1 percent for years. In other words, scandal can be a lucrative revenue stream.
Should this be the path most travelled by wrongdoers? The question has me thinking back about the first political scandal I remember. The Profumo affair back in the Sixties in London.
No, it isn’t sexual harassment that brings down John Profumo, UK Secretary of State for War in 1963. It’s his dalliance with a showgirl who was also sleeping with a Soviet diplomat. Before it’s over, Profumo’s affair washes a tsunami of intrigue over Parliament and the intelligence community and helps bring down the government.
It’s reported Profumo, at first, commits a then unforgiveable offense in British politics. He lies to Parliament, denying the affair. Then he confesses, resigns, and, shortly after, begins working as a volunteer, cleaning toilets at a charity in London’s East End. He volunteers either scrubbing the loos or fundraising for the charity the rest of his life. In the end, Profumo’s charity work and silence about his misdeed and lie redeem his reputation.
How refreshing would it be to see those who’ve wronged country, victims, or family do what Profumo did? Apologize to everyone, then quietly vanish into the metaphorical woods to spend the rest of your life doing good deeds and never speaking about the scandal or making a dime off it.
Lesson and a Question
Sometimes we do things that seriously damage other people. Damage that leaves skid marks on all their tomorrows. What better way to make amends for your mistake than by not making excuses or deinals and accepting the consequences for your actions. Make amends when possible and forego shortcuts to forgiveness and redemption. And, because crime does pay, why not give the riches you earn from a book deal and speaking engagements to the folks or person you’ve harmed, rather than doing a financial victory lap for yourself?
