Um, no we do not begin as a "blank slate." We begin with the qualities of being human. We are born innocent, not having had a chance to partake or abstain from good or evil.
Similar though. I would take that a step further and question whether anyone is born innocent. People may appear innocent to a stranger who does not know them, and appear innocent by being ignorant of any past, genes, state of things here, and the people that surround them. So, if someone suffers amnesia and ends up among strangers, are they truly innocent? Have they completely changed themselves? It seems to me that ignorance, and an absence of memory, is the innocent "blank slate" that Lunitik has described, which is not about forgiving and being forgiven. It is about remaining ignorant: plausible deniability, and about having others remain ignorant: being anonymous. In my view, ignorance brings peace and bliss not by people being kind and forgiving, but by people being unaware and ignorant.
With databases of strangers, with computer technology now, members of society and governments have cultivated the value for keeping a record of people they don't really know... for power and control. A credit record. A criminal record. A medical record. A driving record. A history. These records are mere pointers that may point to a fact, or they may point to fiction, like a person's fabrication. These records may be easily falsified, not just because someone entered in false or incorrect information, but because:
people may change. For that reason, if a person takes action by such a record, especially without personally knowing the person, then in my view they commit a sin, a serious error, clearly counter to the golden rule. Not everyone will agree that:
people may change, but they sure reserve that right for themselves.
So there are seemingly two ways to alter the cycle: destroy or deny all records and remain ignorant or impotent, so that we view everyone as children, or strangers; or, learn to forgive, suffer each other, encouraging people to be good towards one another regardless of their record.