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Redemption

Our daughter loves the TV show Leverage, and I've enjoyed it when I've seen it; we were just talking about it over breakfast. It's a redemption tale (about a talented group of lawbreakers who decide to stop powerful people from hurting powerless people), and I've always been fond of those---LA Confidential is probably my favorite. In any event, one of the principles of Leverage is that redemption is ongoing. One of the characters discusses that as a key part of Judaism; as an ignorant Christian I can't speak to that but it resonates with me. 

Many folk think of redemption in terms of an apology, which is an instant in time and often does not involve much sacrifice or in any way make right the injury caused by the sin. Easy things don't really count for much in the big scheme.

Redemption attempts to make right the injured party or parties' damage but it also attempts to make right the sinner. That in particular is why it is ongoing, because people don't change in meaningful ways in a single moment.

So: why is Andrew Cuomo back in politics? Is there an answer that bodes well for the state of his soul or that of New York City? I am unaware of efforts on his part to repair the damage his widespread sexual harassment has caused, leading him to resign in disgrace from being New York governor. It certainly is not ongoing redemption, which would involve him not being in power over others, because time and time again that is what enables men to harass women.

Redemption on the part of Cuomo would involve abstaining from power over others and working to support women in the workforce. That is a different path.

I like Mamdani a lot, from a distance, but that is for another post, as his appeal to me is not that he is not Cuomo. 

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