We can forgive each other, but the powerful should be held accountable

Forgiving a friend is different than forgiving Gavin Newsom.

Brown University Economist Emily Oster — who I deeply respect — has a piece out this morning encouraging forgiveness for actions and words over the past few years: “a pandemic amnesty.” And I do think Oster is right that, between friends and loved ones, we should strongly consider forgiving pandemic mistakes. At the same time, we absolutely need institutional and political accountability for our pandemic response.

Let’s use the Iraq War as an example. I suspect most Americans forgave friends and family members...