No, I'm wondering from a pragmatic standpoint, what the politically correct and appropriate forum would be for someone to come clean on every miniscule issue that anyone with a real or imagined bone to pick might bring up.
For instance, in the late '60's and early '70's, I once (or maybe a few times, before I knew better) discarded used automobile motor oil, 6 quarts at a time, into a public storm sewer in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It drained into the Potomac River (then known for its flotsam and jetsum) and into the then-taken for granted and now-revered Chesapeake Bay. Thank God I'm more concerned about the environment now than I was. However, 30 years ago, everybody seemed to dump stuff in storm sewers, and didn't think anything about it.
Now, it probably would be a felony, and it might even have been a misdemeanor then.
Further, in the late '60's, when I was an underage teenager riding my unlicensed, motorized 3.5 hp mini-bike on the street, I was stopped by a squad of cops, issued a ticket, and taken to juvenile court for my infraction, where I was found guilty and sentenced to write the judge a 300-word letter explaining why riding a mini-bike in the street is dangerous.
If I decide to run for county council in two years, do I need to disclose these past infractions? If I don't, do I risk having the media or my opponent expose them in a splash article in the final days of the campaign, where I won't have time to explain, discuss, or put the infractions into context? |
