It’s a familiar story: A public figure faces charges of doing something inappropriate years or even decades ago. It could be a serious moral failure, a youthful indiscretion, or a public-policy decision that seems out of step with the times today.
Accusations like these can provide a glimpse of a previously unknown character flaw. Or, even if true, they could be a relic from a different time in the person’s life, before admitting a mistake or learning an important lesson.
“We have a real tension in our culture between wanting to hold people accountable for past actions and the belief that people can change their behavior over time,” University of Texas psychology professor Dr. Arthur Markman said. “We often encourage people to adopt a growth mindset and to engage in constant learning and development. But people are often cynical about public figures (like actors and politicians) and often believe that their private behavior is a better view of their character than their public statements.”
The “gotcha” culture of politics
This summer, rival candidates peppered Joe Biden with questions about his record in the Democratic presidential debates. Biden has a long history of public service, having joined the Senate in 1973 and served there until 2009, when he became vice president under Barack Obama. One question in the debates centered on an op-ed Biden wrote for a small-town Maryland newspaper in 1981. “That was a long time ago,” Biden responded.
Dr. Darrell Bock, Executive Director for Cultural Engagement at the Hendricks Center at Dallas Theological Seminary, said that there is a “gotcha” culture in politics, where leaders make sport of catching their partisan rivals in mistakes. “It leaves little inclination to be gracious or give another any benefit of the doubt,” he said. “Another factor is that sometimes changes in view are not motivated by conviction but by political expediency.”
Last fall,…
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