Booth's Escape Route

[jonathan]

I've been down this road a few times before, so I'll renew my position in the "Not a cold blooded killer" camp. I'll agree with what Betty said a few posts back...Powell committed a cold blooded act, but in my opinion that act should not saddle him with the immortal label of cold blooded killer. These were young men living in times very different from ours, compounded by a 4 years long Civil War. Even under normal circumstances, young men in groups do stupid things. I speak from experience, as I have done my share. These particular young men made huge mistakes and committed terrible crimes. I just don't believe that those crimes should forever define what and who they were in life.

I am not a cold hearted person, at all. Very much the contrary, I am normally very empathetic, and always try to consider the other person's situation. Yet in my life, in certain situations and under certain circumstances (usually in relationships with women), I have sometimes said and done cold hearted things. Does this make me a cold hearted person? Because I'm not. I swear. When this happens, I'm usually ashamed afterwards, and wish I had not been that way.

Are we defined by who we are in our worst moments? Is that fair? Even if those worst moments cross lines that most of us would likely never cross? Should I forever be labeled as a cold hearted person because I said something cold hearted to somebody at a time I happened to be in a very stressful time in my life? Can't I be a good hearted person who is capable of occasionally doing cold hearted things? To be truly "cold hearted", shouldn't my heart always be cold? Shouldn't it be cold before and after the act? Should Lewis Powell be labeled for eternity as a cold blooded killer because of something he did in a moment, when most of his life was likely lived in a good and honest manner? And should John Wilkes Booth be always remembered as one of the great villains in American history, even if he truly believed he was doing the right thing? Can't these be normal men who are capable of doing terrible things? Does crossing a line have to forever change who we are, who we were? Shouldn't we look in the mirror and recognize that the line is indeed thin before we pass judgement so quickly, before we try and define somebody we never even knew?

As per usual on this forum, I understand and respect that everybody doesn't agree, and please know that these are just my opinions, I don't claim that it's the law.