What makes someone good or bad?
The drug arrest of Woodham Coach Benny Washington and the subsequent comments on this blog and others in the area have gotten me to ponder this question. There are those who relish the fall of Coach Washington or any public figure. Others refuse to join the lynch-mob mentality and still support him.
I know Benny Washington. I believe he is a good person. Yes, he battles demons, but so do we all. Drugs and alcohol have ensnared many…..remember the Sandshaker.
I don’t buy into the belief that everyone has to be perfect to be seen as good. We know that none of us are so – we stumble, fall and get back up. If only perfection is acceptable, then why should anyone ever try?
It’s in that effort to do good that we become good.
None of us is all good or all bad. Each of us is capable of being really good or terribly bad at different times or in different respects. What separates us is the effort to do good. We need to resist thinking anyone is wholly good or bad, even at their best or worst moments.
Coach Washington has touched many lives in a positive way. He is a good man. He has made mistakes. His arrest is one of those. I hope he will find help.