Accusations

Accusations of sexual misconduct in all areas of our society today seem to be rampant. Some of these charges are based on something that happened 40 years ago by a person who is now running for a critical position in our senate. If these accusations are true, they should have been brought forward long before this and should be accompanied by proof. We have turned the adage of "innocent until proven guilty" totally upside down. These women should not have waited this long to come forward and are now making it look as if it is totally politically and, no doubt, financially motivated.

On the other hand, we have discovered that many of our government leaders have been "paying off" their accusers with money funded by taxpayer dollars. Each of these instances represents an admission of guilt that should not go unpunished. Having a pool of public funds used to "pay off" accusers says that many of our leaders are repulsive and should be removed from office. A list of these offenders should be made public, and these leaders should immediately be relieved from their positions of leadership. The same guidelines and consequences should apply to everyone regardless of status or position.

However, having said this, the positive effect of all of this is that women are now coming forward with accusations they have been harboring for many years. We have for too long complained about this behavior on one hand and continued to accept it on the other. We have allowed too many people to think they are not committing a major crime by making the consequences minor. We have condemned the victims for being participants. We have glorified the "macho" attitude in all forms of social media and in sports.

But now we are beginning to see the total iceberg of this problem. However, we need to do more than complain -- we need to educate. We need to begin as early as kindergarten to identify the boundaries between the sexes. We need to continue to emphasize throughout the educational process these moral, social and legal, non-negotiable boundaries between men and women. We need to de-emphasize the attitude of immediate gratification that is currently being so sought after by upcoming generations. And, we need strict consequences from definitive laws that are enforced at all levels of society.

Without early and continuing education, and total enforcement of the laws at all levels, we can only complain and watch this problem get worse.

Larry Blech

Bella Vista