Forgive and forget, really?

Recently the thought of Martha Stewart crossed my mind, her time in the big house and then the ankle bracelet lead me to think about Punishment and Penance. Punishment is supposed to make someone a better person. It is like the slate was just cleaned.

Personally I am not at all religious in my understanding every religion teaches some common tenets, one in particular being forgive and forget. But what about TRUST?

Considering the fact that religions are all about trust and belief isn’t it strange there is no mention of trust in the ‘forgive and forget’? Huh, strange I might just stay. Is the trust part implied in the ‘forget’ may be? And if that is really so why are we as a society talking about not permitting these leaders on boards of any corporations? Is the penance not complete then? Was the prison term no long enough to have transformed the person? How long is long enough for this transformation to complete? Is this a standard duration for all? Is the courtroom judge qualified enough to decide on what is the right duration? Shouldn’t it be a parole like decision, with decisions at certain milestones? And even after that can we trust the person?

May be a change in name and logo? Pharmaceutical companies have tried it. Strong branding and a whole bunch of resources!

But can trust ever be restored? What does it take to establish trust?