We, As a Nation, Are at a Crossroads ....

I have been following all of the #MeToo posts and stories, well the highlights at least. It's been too hard for me to bear witness to explicit details having been a victim myself. Nonetheless, I sincerely admire the courage of others have shown by coming forward in order to share their deeply personal stories, followed by the aftermath of trying to find 'normal' once again --some of us never truly find normal again, maybe we must invent a new normal for ourselves. Anyway, the sharing of these courageous women --and men-- gives me a profound sense of hope ... Hope because the sharing of these stories reveals a long-hidden, ugly truth in our western society, namely the false-narrative that power can be used to prey upon others for the purposes of a misguided need for sexual gratification at the expense of an unwilling participant. By sharing these stories we remove the mask of stigma from the victims and refocus the blame where it should rightly reside, namely upon the perpetrators and their enablers. We've begun to shrink the cover that 'polite society' used to provide for these monsters and started a conversation that stands to fundamentally change how we deal with sexual harassment and assault in our modern-day society. Those who prey upon the innocent, our children, are perhaps the worst among the predators. For these innocent we must remain ever-vigilant, being the eyes and ears who will watch for any and all signs of abuse and then move swiftly to protect the innocent.

All of the above being said, however, I find myself deeply troubled by the allegations being brought against the Republican Alabama Senate Candidate, Judge Roy Moore, in the aftermath of the Alabama primary election and just weeks before the main election is to be held. While the allegations, if proved to be truthful, are horrible and wholly inexcusable, I find myself EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the timing of these allegations, especially in light of the fact that these allegations date back thirty, or more, years making the allegations all the more difficult to conclusively prove, by legal standards, within the limited time-frame leading up to the election.

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As much as it pains me to say, given my own experiences of sexual abuse, I firmly believe Roy Moore deserves his day in court.  I do  not think this because of Roy Moore's character or his policies, or the fact that he happens to be Republican.  I would be making this very same argument if Roy Moore were a Democrat as well.  Due process is the right of all citizens and it is a fundamental part of who we are as a nation.  Due process is what separates us from countries like North Korea and Iran.  To my way of thinking we, as a nation, are at a crossroads. We stand to set an incredibly dangerous precedent for trying post/primary political candidates in the “court of public opinion”, without the due-process of law, where information --both true and false-- in this 'courtroom' spreads like wildfire in this day and age of global social media and the 24-hour cable news-cycle.  The repercussions of such a precedent will be long-lasting and detrimental to the fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy, because now moving forward any candidate can be unfairly targeted with non-legally binding charges, in any political campaign, without due-process.  The game-changer of course in the "court of public opinion", now verses decades past, is the velocity--both speed, as well as multi-direction-- at which damage can be inflicted upon an intended target in our present-day technological web.  So which candidates are likely prevail in such scenarios, without the benefit of due process? Probably those candidates who are well-connected, both in terms of finances as well as media backing, with the financiers having their own hidden agendas. And who will want to even run for political office, given the risk of being unfairly targeted and smeared? Probably not the best qualified candidates, with the best interest of “we the people” at heart.

The Democrats are quite the hypocrites, given their unwavering support for President Bill Clinton in the aftermath of his sexual misconduct with a young White House intern, in the Oval Office no less, even in the aftermath of Congressional impeachment.  Let us not overlook the fact that the Democrats stand to win a much needed Senate seat in the aftermath of scandal, a seat which could potentially shift the Congressional balance-of-power, thereby derailing President Trump's agenda for “Making America Great Again.” And shame on establishment Republicans for rushing to throw their fellow Republican immediately under the bus? Timing IS everything. Even if these allegations of sexual misconduct prove to be true, we are all being played. Are we really okay with this?  If Roy Moore is forced to withdraw from the race, then the puppet-masters win again and they win BIG, not just today, but tomorrow and in every future political race that has yet to play.  I say, Judge Roy Moore deserves his day in court. Let the election play out, with the legal proceeding moving forth simultaneously. Then, if Roy Moore winds up winning the election and IF he is found guilty, by legal standards, then have him removed from office, where-after a replacement can appointed by the Governor of Alabama, as the established electoral guidelines in the state of Alabama dictate. To do otherwise risks damaging our democracy in so very many ways, ways which will go on to have lasting repercussions on our nation for decades upon decades to come.