In the End, Justice Will Prevail Once More

By Dan Rather, Dan Rather's Facebook Page

06 October 18

feel the anxiety, the uncertainty, the fear, and the determination...

Have you ever stood at the boundary between surf and sand as the tide rolled in? Have you felt each succeeding wave lap up over your bare feet and then recede, tugging at the tiny rocks under foot? When you live as long as I have, through times of such change and flux, life can feel similar. What were once familiar norms and sources of sure footing crumble towards a new uncertainty.

Change is not, by definition, bad or good. I have seen plenty of both. I have seen civic mindedness and civility diminish but I have seen a much greater awareness and need for inclusion surge across this nation. We must continually remind ourselves that the president’s mantra of “make America great again” is really a sop to an age of far more injustice.

Watching the Kavanaugh allegations tumble forth, hearing the echoes of Clarence Thomas and even Bill Clinton, is to feel a great wave of change crest once more. It reminds me of the 1960s on civil rights, the 1970s on Vietnam, the recent decades on LGBT rights.

In all these times (and also in the present) there have been truly bad actors. And there can be no excuse for violence, abuse or other illegalities. These men and women must face the consequences in courts of law and public judgement. But most people, if we are honest with ourselves, live our lives in shades of gray.

We must realize that what was once acceptable is now unacceptable. Words of common usage become epithets. Actions that were hushed or excused become rightful outrages. This is progress. And those whose lives span the epochs must adapt or ultimately suffer the consequences of their own obsolescence.

I believe that what we are witnessing now is the beginning of just such a moment. For all the exalted poetry of our founding national documents, our early nation was strictly one of white, male, wealthy, Christian privilege. Through immense pain and suffering, our predecessors chipped away at that edifice of injustice to carve out a nation, still far from perfect, but a lot closer to the aspirational notion of "all men (and women) are created equal."

I recognize that I have had to grow, along with my nation, in my empathy for others. I recognize that many of the norms of my childhood, along with some of my own thoughts, words, and actions, are shameful in reflection. And I recognize my own privilege, how many still suffer grievously, and how far we have to go.

But I will not stand by and let the forces of small mindedness, prejudice, or sanctimony tell me or, more importantly, those who have stood up with far greater courage, that our voices don't matter. I will not allow truth to be obscured, gaslit, or mocked. This is not about politics... or policy... It's about decency and the common bonds of humanity. And in the end, I believe that justice will prevail once more and trample out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.