We've lost the idea of redemption, once a staple of our religious beliefs.

And why not? When 30 year old transgressions can be brought forth to smear an opponent, who cares if he's morphed into a modern-day version of Mother Theresa?

Even presidential candidates can't admit prior transgressions. Mike Bloomberg won't say why he supported "Stop and Frisk" as mayor of crime-ridden NYC, instead groveling to the assembled party base for forgiveness (which he'll never get) for having done so. Bernie won't say he was young and foolish, enamored of the better world promised by Marxism, instead meekly insisting he never advocated that kind of socialism. They can't. Any admission that such behaviors were theirs is tantamount to admitting they boil and eat babies today.

And when you can be sued, indicted, and/or imprisoned for a social offense 30 years gone, copping to having been a bad person in your youth is dangerous.

People, even heroes, are rarely saints.

"“If this story were to have a moral, then I would say: 'Just name a hero and I’ll prove he’s a bum.'" ~ Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (Baa Baa Black Sheep)

FWIW, from April 1998:

Dear Miss Manners: An acquaintance recently confided to a small group of us that as a young man 20 years ago he served jail time for multiple counts of assault and battery I believe my friend today to be a gentleman of good character, I was troubled by those in the group who responded in a wistful, hearty spirit of "Ah, wacky I was once interviewed for a government position by a man who openly disbelieved me when I told him I never used illegal drugs. Job applicants who affirm they never stole from an employer are rejected because "everyone steals, and only liars would deny it." It seems that well-mannered people who respect others and the law are penalized for it, while thugs and cheats enhance their reputations with a "colorful past." While I recognize that rogues have always borne a certain attraction, why are we so quick to provide them a clean slate? In a fast-paced, mobile society in which everyone comes from somewhere else and anything can be forgiven, does reputation matter? In other words, why did I miss out on all the fun?

Gentle Reader: You might comfort yourself that you also missed out on jail and other possible consequences of misbehaving. You might even take comfort from having behaved morally. But it is true that the social consequences once attached to bad behavior are disappearing, even though Miss Manners doesn't believe society's inexplicably proud claim that it has learned to be nonjudgmental. It has only shifted its area of disapproval: Criminals may be tolerated, or even lionized, but smokers and fat people are not. Miss Manners confesses to mixed feelings about the new tolerance. It is true that etiquette can play a large role in making people behave themselves by shunning them if they fail. But just as the legal system needs both to dispense justice and show mercy, manners must both maintain standards and exercise compassion. The dilemma is difficult enough that most people are relieved to retreat from dealing with the situation at all on the grounds, also strongly backed by etiquette of minding their own business, not rushing to judgment when they don't know the full circumstances and practicing forgiveness. Your acknowledging both the seriousness of your acquaintance's crime and his accomplishment in having seriously changed shows respect not only for society, but for his reformation. The others privy to his confession might have simply been embarrassed into offering what reassurance they could. But to provide such automatic and unthinking forgiveness is to dismiss moral law as trivial, which does great damage to the society. Pride in having a spotless reputation is a powerful incentive for doing right, and Miss Manners agrees that this is meaningless when society feels wrong about holding anyone accountable. But she wants to remind you that it should not be the only incentive for doing right.

(end)

Cancel culture is what is called a "purity spiral". Behavior or beliefs that today are acceptable become too "common" and their value is decreased. New, higher standards arise. etc. But no one can live up to these purity standards. Everyone has had bad thoughts. Even black people look over their shoulder if followed by a group of young black men with sagging pants and hoodies--but no one can admit it.

Actually, Jesse Jackson famously did just that, pretty much, in 1993.

"There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see someone white and feel relieved."

"It must be difficult to live in an environment in which every day is a perpetual test of one's submission to the Woke Police. It must be difficult to know that no past act stands in favor of the accused — that each day must be lived fresh — and that all past omissions stand against the accused. But the intersectional revolution requires continual struggle, and continual sacrifice." ~ Ben Shapiro