Pardon by Kayla Seiffert

17 June 1972

The Democratic National Comittee at The Watergate Hotel

2:30a.m.

Five men are arrested for breaking and entering.

They were later found out to be working to reelect the Republican president, Richard Nixon.

They were men within the national government.

However, in the fall of '72, Nixon was reelected for a second term.

He claimed that he had nothing to do with the break-in and the sabotage incident that would become known as The Watergate Scandal.

After further investigation, congress declared that Nixon was hiding something. They took Nixon to court (a case that is called Nixon v. U.S. that occured in 1974) and gained the right to confiscate White House telephone conversations that Nixon had recorded during his terms in office. Congress listened to the tapes and discovered an 18-minute gap.

While steps were being taken to impeach him, Nixon resigned. Speaker of the House, Gerald Ford, assumed the presidency.

It was very obvious at this point that if Nixon was taken to court, he would be found guilty of obstruction of justice. Ford knew this would be a long, drawn-out process that may be too much more work than it was worth. It would tear the country apart, and not only that, it would cause distrust in the United States. How would other countries look at the U.S. if their very own former leader was being put on trial?
 Now, for those of you who are not aware, the president has the power to pardon any person/people they so choose.
On the eighth of September in 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for "all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July (January) 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974."

Ford was not a very popular president to begin with, but any popularity he did have, he lost the day he pardoned Nixon.
However, "our long national nightmare" was finally over.
You can learn a lot from Ford. He may have pardoned Nixon for all the wrong reasons, he may have even been involved with Watergate (I doubt it, but it is possible), who knows. I think he did the right thing.
The conflict had been going on for far too long and Nixon was no longer able to do any more damage to the government. Besides that, the country needed to move on. Justice was out of the picture, it was time to let it go.
By now, you are definitely rolling your eyes at this page and asking yourself, "Why in the world is she giving me this stupid history lesson?"
Here's the thing...
This is life. This story is about as real as it gets.
People do bad things; they hurt other people in ways they probably don't even understand. They steal things, they murder people, they lie, they cheat, they abuse, they abandon.
And yes, sometimes (personally, I believe pretty much all of the time) they need to be brought to justice. (please understand that i strongly believe in justice. there are definitely, without a single hint of a question, people who need to be punished for what they have done. believe me, i stand so strongly next to justice that people have thought me a bit bitter.)
But, (in incredibly rare occasions, and i do mean RARE) sometimes true justice is unattainable, for whatever reason, and transgressions need to be forgiven and gotten rid of; not only for the perpetrator's benefit (heaven knows sin is a terrible thing), but also for the victim's healing.
Gerald Ford may have been on to something. Maybe it's not all about the revenge or justice we can attain here on earth, maybe it has so much more to do with letting God take care of it. I mean, someday every single person is going to have to answer to Him for every single action they have ever taken, even me. If Jesus died on the cross and has forgiven me for the terrible things I have done, then why should I not grant that same forgiveness to other people?
This thing has been going on since before the day I was born, and quite frankly I am tired of it. I have seen what it has done to everybody around me and I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to end up the way some people have because of it. Justice is not an option, it won't work...we've tried, and I don't want to be bitter because I never let go.
So, here it is:

I, Kayla Seiffert, Daughter of the King of Kings, pursuant to the forgiveness power conferred upon me by Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verses 31 and 32, of the Bible, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto he (whose name shall not be revealed) for all offenses against Kayla Seiffert which he, who still may not be named, has committed, yes definitely committed, and taken part in during the period from October 16, 1994 through May 5, 2012.