Alabama, you’ve got the weight on your shoulders
That’s breaking your back
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track — Neil Young
So it seems that Alabama has gotten itself into quite a pickle with respect to who and what represents its nearly five million residents in the United States Senate. I have spent many years in the South, starting a 40-year political career in Georgia. I have worked for two southern presidents, two southern U.S. senators, and a southern executive director of a major Washington, DC public interest group. My college sweetheart is from and still lives in Savannah, GA and we have stayed in touch all these years.
I have been fully-immersed in Southern culture even though I was born and raised in Philadelphia. There are positives and negatives when it comes to states that at one time comprised the Confederacy just as there are positives and negatives with respect to other regions of the country. Living now in southern California it is too easy to cast aspersions and one can too easily cast recriminations upon deep south states and their residents. It is all too easy to mimic the ac-cents, or to roll your eyes at the sight of the Stars and Bars prominently displayed in some state flags, or to gag at the sight of a gun rack adorning the rear window of a dusty pick-up truck. It is also easy to express righteous indignation at the idea of honoring Confederate Civil War heroes with statues in town squares across the South. And when we do we instinctively ignite the passions of a cultural divide that like it or not still exists, not in the cities of Birmingham, or Atlanta, or New Orleans necessarily but certainly in the large swaths of the rural south.
Of course these derisive actions elicit an expectedly harsh and loud rebuttal from those in the region who cherish their history or simply wish to hold on to the vestige of a fictionally glorious past. Let there be no mistake, the concepts and practices of slavery were wrong and have no place in either a glorious rendition of the past or through discrimination and segregation that existed until only recently or that may even be evident today. Through Federal legislation laws have been enacted to try to rid all regions of the country of the scourge of discrimination, yet today it still lingers more prominently in some sections of the country and still finds refuge in largely rural sections throughout all regions. Nevertheless, we as a nation must confront injustice in all forms through legal channels and with respect and civility towards our fellow men and women. We sacrificed too much to remain a unified country and we have created a model of freedom, liberty, and democratic ideals. It is not perfect, but it is a work in progress that sometimes takes wrong turns and has its ups and downs for sure.
As a liberal I am conflicted as to how to react to the almost comical yet tragic circumstances that are happening in Alabama as of this writing. A former State Supreme Court judge, packing a gun, wearing a cowboy hat and boots, projecting the aura of a God-fearing man who pays homage to the Holy Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ and professing to honor unquestioned morality is now under assault from multiple women alleging sexual harassment when they were mere teenagers. Of course these are allegations and he has not been convicted of any crimes, yet. There is widespread revulsion but there is a process by which this can be rectified and it is at the ballot box.
While the allegations are repugnant I am also a firm believer that a person is legally innocent until proven guilty and find the need for our society and its legal system to protect against frivolous or unsubstantiated attacks that could be used as dirty political tricks in the heat of a vicious campaign. But this is a problem for the voters of Alabama to figure out. My greatest fear is that inflaming the situations from a distance only emboldens those filled with bigotry, hate and hypocrisy so let us reach out to those who we cannot reach through calm and reason.
In the end this is a dilemma that must be sorted out by the people of Alabama. They must take into consideration all facets of the issue and decide who best to represent them in the world’s most deliberative body. They need no coaxing or coaching from those of us who only view their world from afar and likely could overreact to outside interference by deciding to “show” them who is boss. In much the same way as those portrayed as elitists contributed to an overreaction by middle-class whites in key states to roll the dice for Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election, we run the risk of alienating many who are legitimately frustrated, angry, and feel they have been left behind in the wake of economic injustice and a changing world. Their fears are real and must be addressed but condemning a whole region is a cheap shot and quite possibly counterproductive.
As much as we are disgusted by the situation that is unfolding in Alabama we must let the folks of the Cotton State determine their own representation, particularly given that the election is upon them in only a few short weeks. If left to their own common sense and judgement we must allow the federalist system that distinguishes our governmental system from most others to allow for the checks and balances that are inherent in its construction to play itself out. Threats of retaliation only breed resentment when cool deliberation is the most potent weapon against a clear and present danger.
We must allow the system to function as intended and we must afford the residents of Alabama the right to be wrong, even if only in our own eyes. This is another aspect of diversity that makes us stronger as a nation, makes us tolerant, and forces us to temper our zeal for conformity. So good luck Alabama, do yourself proud. The world is watching and hoping and some may even be praying that you choose to pass on Roy Moore.