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Today, Goldman Sachs executives will appear before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations under the absolute toughest of circumstances. The investment banking giant is certainly no stranger to controversy, having taken more than its share of reputational lumps in the past.  But since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil charges alleging that the bank hid details from clients investing in mortgage-backed securities, and then bet against those same clients, the public’s vitriol – and that of its elected representatives – has reached a new high.

Big bonuses, the recent SEC charges, and emails leaked over the weekend that appeared to show Goldman employees gleeful over the profits they might realize from the decline in the subprime mortgage market have combined to create the perception that the bank prospered while the public suffered.

Right or wrong, this point is sure to be leveraged by Democrats seeking support for a regulatory overhaul of the financial system. Meanwhile, becoming a face of greed is taking a toll on the bottom line as well. As of this writing, shares in the bank have fallen to $152 from a 2010 high of more than $185 earlier this month.

Making matters worse for the bank is the fact that, for much of the day, Goldman’s executives are going to have to sit back and absorb what promises to be the 21st Century equivalent of a public flogging in the town square. While the bank surely will have some salient points to make about the issues that underlie the SEC’s case, its course through this shoreline will be sharply constricted, given that the case is still pending.

All that said, one way for CEO Lloyd Blankfein and his team to end the day better than it started will be to look forward while everyone else is looking back. Simply put, the bank has to talk about how it plans to play a vibrant role as an engine of capitalism moving forward. By taking the focus off the money they made yesterday and putting it on the jobs, tax revenues, and Main Street wealth they will help create tomorrow, Goldman’s executives could shift the debate back to neutral ground.

And by highlighting the firm’s support of smart regulation, its decision to more closely align rewards with risk, and its initiatives to spur small business growth, Goldman can demonstrate that it has more in common with its inquisitors than many might think.

There was a time when Goldman Sachs involvement in a deal was seen as a blessing from on high. Right now, some are beginning to see it as a curse. But that doesn’t have to remain the case if the bank takes advantage of today’s opportunity to articulate the lessons learned from past mistakes and demonstrates how they can serve as the foundation for a return to prosperity – not just for Goldman itself, but for us all.

Michael W. Robinson is a Senior Vice President and Chair of the Corporate Practice at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.