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Blame and Harassment

Charlie Rose
Kerby Andersonnever miss viewpoints

Numerous charges and revelations about sexual harassment are now bringing out people trying to affix blame. In the past, we blamed the perpetrator. Unfortunately that has changed.

Charlie Rose exposed himself to women who worked for him. When he issued an apology, it ended up being more of a non-apology. The most important line was this: “All of us, including me, are coming to a newer and deeper recognition of the pain caused by conduct in the past, and have a profound new respect for women and their lives.” You have to roll your eyes at the phrase “all of us.” No, all of us weren’t engaging in the behavior that got you fired by CBS and PBS. Please don’t pin your behavior on the rest of us.

Another response has been virtue signaling. If you check social media you will find lots of men posting comments in order to repent on behalf of all men. Men, they say, are gross, lustful, and disgusting. But women, remember, we are on your side and abhor what our fellow males want to do to you.

The solution to the problem of sexual harassment is two-fold. First, we need to place blame where it belongs: on the perpetrators. Human sinfulness unleashed in a world without moral rules results in what we are reading about each day in newspapers and on websites. That brings us to the second solution: moral rules.

The leaders of the sexual revolution have thrown out nearly every moral rule for sexual behavior. Anything goes, as long as it is consensual. But what does that even mean when men and women willingly engage in all sorts of sexual behavior? Virtue, chivalry, and propriety were thrown out the window years ago. No wonder so many men believe they can do just about anything sexually and get away with it.

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