COVID Amnesty? How About Unconditional Surrender?

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Brown University professor Emily Oster has created quite a stir with her recent article asking for a "pandemic amnesty." In it, she calls for "both sides" in the COVID debate to forgive each other so we can focus on solving current problems. If Oster wanted exposure, she certainly got it, with commentators far and wide responding to her plea. If she wanted to heal wounds and close chasms, however, she failed miserably. Many have told her to go pound sand.  Genuine calls for forgiveness are noble, but, Professor Oster, you (and your critics) miss a significant point here: Forgiveness does not obviate punishment. Were it otherwise, following Jesus's "70×7" prescription would mean emptying the prisons and hurting our beloved children by never holding them accountable for misbehavior.