How many roads must a man walk down?
In the aftermath of Senator Robert Byrd’s death, Alan Colmes notes the right wing critics who continually denounce him as a former KKK member. Colmes thinks that not only are these criticisms insensitive, but also unfair, since Byrd is a changed man who has renounced his past.
Byrd […] changed his views over time. By the late 1970s Byrd was speaking in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment. Eventually, he regarded his vote in favor of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that led to the Vietnam War a sin. In fact, Byrd became a liberal lion who stood up to the Bush administration, invoking the rules of the Senate he knew like no one else to point out that it is illegal to fight without a declaration of war. Robert Byrd evolved as a man. Isn’t that something we all wish for ourselves? And isn’t that the truly Christian way?
There probably is a sense in which these criticisms are unfair (and definitely insensitive), but it seems fair to question Byrd’s position as a US senator. After all, when Byrd was first elected it was because of his racist views, not in spite of them. If he truly is a changed man, should he retain the offices of his former self? Some people might think a person with Byrd’s tainted past should atone for his crimes before being completely forgiven, perhaps believing in the vague notion of a “debt to society” before being allowed the complete rights and privileges of a mutual citizen (or Senator, for that matter).
Photo by Flickr user Nevada Tumbleweed used under a Creative Commons Attribution license
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