I am moving my blog to Active, this was origionally written 8/25/07

America, the home of the free, the home of the brave, the home of the FORGIVING?

It seems that this has been the case in recent history; we can forgive all sorts of singers, actors, athletes, and celebutants. And just when it seemed that maybe there third, fourth, and maybe even fifth offense may finally have put one beyond the forgiveness America, its time to pull the rehab card that will guarantee that your next 3 offenses will be quickly forgotten.

Unfortunately for Michael Vick there is no DFA (dog fighter's anonymous), no 12 step process, and if 125 million reasons wasn't enough, no center that looks more like a luxury resort somewhere in the middle of nowhere Utah will convince him to leave the bad influences in his life behind.

Michael Vick, seemingly out of options, pulled out the big guns, the Son of God, the messiah, his sins made him find Jesus, and how can we not love him for that. Forget that he may have drowned, electrocuted, and hung up to 8 of man's best friends, gambled on their life, and taken those furry friends on an interstate ride, he has found Jesus, and what is most important, Jesus forgives.

Sure a week ago we killing a dog may have been worse to the American public than the murder of humans, but now that Vick is a god fearing Christian, can America forgive him, after all the bible does say all sins are equal in God's eyes. So me realizing I wasn't charged for that extra shot in my latte at Starbuck's this morning but staying hush is the same as a god fearing man bank rolling a sort of doggie concentration camp is equal as long as he recognizes his error and asks for forgiveness?

In this case I think America's love of our four legged friends might in fact be the one thing that holds more clout than the driving force behind our country, the religious rite.

Vick's appeal today and his public announcement of his new found religion will not be enough to put his jersey's back on the market, re-instate him as the face of the NFL, even play in the NFL again, and forget ever getting access to those endorsement dollars.

I think Vick has helped us pinpoint the one thing American's cannot forgive. Sure we can forgive a man who while drunk used his car as a weapon and successfully took another human life, a man who killed his ex and her innocent new boyfriend and later even wrote a detailed account of how he did it, and even those who have ruined the integrity of sports by turning their bodies into superhuman athletic machines, but with our love of Fido, Pluto, Underdog, Clifford (Yes, the big red one!), and all 101 Dalmatians, we may never find it in our hearts to forgive Michael Vick, even if Jesus does.