“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
Most of us have come across this famous saying before, but if you’re like me, you might not have been familiar with its origin. I recall hearing it many times from my mother growing up, a maxim which a parent might logically employ to synopsize the general understanding that we all screw up from time to time but, going forward, carrying grudges isn’t necessarily the best way to deal with being wronged.
According to Wikipedia, the truism stems from “An Essay on Criticism [which] is one of the first major poems written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744), published in 1711.” So, in other words, the quote has been around a long time… and it didn’t even come from my mom.
At any rate, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about forgiving Republicans last week, her response was somewhat less than divine. Tim Hains posted at Real Clear Politics:
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi answered several questions about her Republican colleagues during Thursday's weekly press conference. ‘I will never forgive President-- the former president of the United States and his lackeys and his bullies that he sent to the Capitol for the trauma that he -- that was exerted on our staff during the riot on January 6, Pelosi said. ‘These are largely younger people who come with idealism to work in the Capitol.’
“’For us who signed up for this when we run for office it is bad enough, but for them -- for these young people. I came back to the Capitol to say we're going to open up government... even though they had an assault... When I saw what it meant to the staff, the way it traumatized them. It was frightening. That is something that, you cannot just say we will do legislation to make sure it doesn't happen again. You cannot erase that,’ she said.
“’The truth will tell us some things about further exposure’ to danger, she also said about the investigation into the events of January 6.”
“Further exposure to danger.” Pfft. Like there’s an army of Trump supporters constantly plotting to besiege the Capitol Building at any given moment. And, according to people like Pelosi, senile Joe Biden and chief federal prosecutor Merrick Garland, “white supremacists” are the biggest domestic terrorist threat to our peaceful existence, even if the “hate” groups are few in number, unorganized and nearly impossible to identify as an entity. It’s all-but been demonstrated that government agents were crucial to egging on protesters on January 6, ordering them to enter the building to cause damage and mayhem.
Maybe the government’s FBI plants should’ve instructed the trespassers to avoid Pelosi’s Speaker’s office so as to spare her staff any emotional distress. The impressionable little safe space seeking liberal waifs probably took part in Antifa or Black Lives Matter or “climate change” protests in their experience, yet, upon seeing sight of the American flag carried by the Trump supporters, grew terrified that history was coming for them.
And let’s not forget about the imposing figure of the “QAnon Shaman”. Wow, they’d have nightmares about that guy. The motley group of capitol invaders were unarmed, led by no one, didn’t have a predetermined strategy and most of them simply walked through the building and took selfies. The violent miscreant minority will be dealt with. Isn’t a little forgiveness in order for the rest?
The “lackeys and bullies” Pelosi mentioned were Americans who went to DC to exercise their free speech and assembly rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. A good many of those arrested and detained after the riot have been kept behind bars in deplorable conditions with little contact with their lawyers and family. They’re treated worse than animals in a shelter. Maybe we should be asking those unlawfully detained if they “forgive” Pelosi for being such a contemptible hag.
Having worked in Congress myself (as a lowly unpaid intern in the nineties), I can personally attest that Capitol Hill staff are not nearly as “idealistic” as Pelosi portrays them. As I recall, they were paid next to nothing, required to wear business attire and stay out of the members’ elevators. It seemed more like a huge college frat party than a place of advanced ideals where great ideas were debated and enacted. The staffers were more interested in finding free food and booze at receptions and engaging in the “meet market” than altering the course of the republic.
Democrat member crews were worse than Republicans in terms of post-college kids in search of grift. Even back then, some offices were notorious for not even communicating with GOP congressmen and staff.
It's highly doubtful that former President Trump is bothered by Pelosi’s lack of forgiveness or warm feelings towards him. Trump knows he didn’t do anything wrong on January 6 and his admonishment to the crowd to march on the capital peacefully has been wholly ignored by the media and the sourpusses in the Democrat party. They wonder why their absurd ideas aren’t popular and their placeholder president has worse ratings than practically any other at this stage of his first term.
Democrats seek to keep January 6th alive as long as they believe they’ll benefit from it, right up to the eve of the 2022 midterms, if possible. When the full story of that day is told, however, they might not be so hearty in their predictions of doom for the GOP -- or in their pronouncements of guilt and lack of forgiveness.
By being so brazen about her personal hatred for Donald Trump, Pelosi sends another signal -- that her days in Congress are numbered. Chances are, a year from now, when Democrats are kicked out of the majority and her lame duck tenure as Speaker is rapidly eroding, no one will care about San Fran Nan’s eternal ill-feelings for Trump. It must gall her to no end that Trump has emerged from the political mess stronger than ever.
But we already realize that Democrats aren’t into contrition or forgiveness. The recent incident involving Colorado freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert and the heinous, anti-Semitic, Jew-bashing, brother-marrying, terrorist coddling Ilhan Omar is one case in point. After making an off-the-cuff joke about Omar and her “Squad” colleagues, Omar, like the hateful human being that she is, refused to discuss the matter when Boebert called to apologize.
Instead of extending a hand and an olive branch as a sign of peace and comity, Democrats are pursuing a vote to censure Boebert and strip her of her committee assignments. Real classy. But what do you expect?
Should Democrats ask for forgiveness for the way they handled Judge Robert Bork’s Supreme Court nomination in the 1980’s? Or how about Clarence Thomas? They didn’t appear sorry for the way they treated men with distinguished careers, smearing their personal reputations and running them through the proverbial mud to disqualify them from serving.
Should Democrats and the media ask Mitt Romney if he forgives them for accusing him of canine abuse for the infamous “Pooch on the roof of the family station wagon” incident all those years ago? How about the multitude of times they accused George W. Bush of ignoring the black citizens of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina? How often did they screech “Bush lied people died?”
Should Brett Kavanaugh forgive Democrats for how they feasted on decades’ old evidence-less rumors and innuendo to insinuate he was a rapist and a beer swilling teenaged privileged preppy predator? How many more nominee spouses have to cry while their loved one is being asked to explain and deny false accusations in front of the world?
The examples are too many to list here. No one cares whether Nancy Pelosi forgives after January 6. What’s there to forgive? It’s safe to say no one is proud of what happened. Everyone acknowledges it. Does the family of Ashli Babbitt forgive the capitol police officer who shot her for no apparent reason? Isn’t that slightly more relevant?
Perhaps the media should track down Kamala Harris’s staff and ask them if they forgive the vice president for years’ worth of abuse and poor treatment. As Tim Graham of CNS News pointed out in his column last week, the allegations against Harris aren’t exactly new, yet the journalism profession hasn’t seen fit to hash over the juicy details.
Forgiveness is a fleeting concept in today’s judgmental world and even more so when it comes to politics. To forgive might be “divine” as the old saying goes, but there’s not much to go around these days. Nancy Pelosi may never forgive Trump for his supporters’ behavior on January 6, but the former chief executive won’t likely lose sleep over it. Hypocritical Democrats have enough sins of their own to be worried about.
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I, as well as many millions of other Americans, do not seek, nor desire Pelosi's forgiveness, such is insignificant at best, more so an insult to our intelligence, as for the most part, those in attendance at the "Unscheduled Tour" of the Capital, on January 6th, did nothing wrong, it was a rally, a protest, an absolutely foreseeable result of "Cause and Effect"!
Said "cause" being the theft of an election, a coup, the usurpation of the Presidency, as well as other elected offices, the installation of a puppet dictator!
No, forgiveness is far from what we want from Pelosi, or any in office, all we demand is, as our founding fathers intended, that they fear us!
"When governments fear…