The current debates around sexual harassment are providing an opportunity to evolve our collective consciousness. Evolution of consciousness requires deviation or mutation. A new form cannot arise if it continues to repeat the same pattern or mold from which it came. Using stigma or shame devalues or kills off any deviation from the orthodox maintained by the dominant belief system. Even discussion of the different perspective is shouted down in an attempt to silence the different. As often quoted, Albert Einstein stated, “The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Stated differently as a philosophical principle, the solution of thesis and antithesis is synthesis. Our current discourse in US politics is stuck in thesis and antithesis, both sides shouting down any attempts at synthesis.
A current example playing out in the public discourse is the age-old dominator consciousness behaviors of men in power forcing their sexual interests onto women in their orbit in lower positions of power. A recent rise in women speaking out about their disturbing and traumatic experiences of this behavior has coalesced into the “Me Too” movement, allowing the collective courage of others to give individuals voice to their past experiences. The thesis is that some men use their power over women to force sexual encounters that are not consensual. The antithesis is seen in the varying degrees of unquestioning or unexamined support of men who have engaged in those behaviors. The most current example is the support of Roy Moore of Alabama. To be clear, our system of laws has us hold the belief that Roy Moore is innocent until proven guilty. The difficulty of applying that standard to the situation is that the events happened so long ago that there is no criminal recourse, which is where our standard of innocent until proven guilty is applied. However, some of the supporters of Roy Moore are not simply applying that standard, they are attacking the messengers, both the women who have shared their stories and the news outlet that distilled and distributed the information. The polarization has created a stalemate and any attempts of synthesis are shouted down by both sides.
The public discourse on men abusing power to satisfy their sexual urges has also generated the recent report of Al Franken’s behaviors in 2006, forcing an unwanted kiss on and groping of a co-host of a USO tour. Unlike the polarizing behaviors around the Roy Moore story, Al Franken took responsibility for his actions, apologized and submitted to one of the processes in place to address the behaviors:
The response of the woman abused by his behaviors? She said she accepts his apology, and no, she does not want him to step down from the Senate unless there are other victims. The key point to this development is that the thesis and antithesis creates a synthesis, the ability for healing, growth and redemption for both the individuals and the culture. If we want to be able to grow out of our mistakes or missteps in the past, we create that space for ourselves by extending the space for others. The current state of the Roy Moore debate keeps us stuck in dominator consciousness. The current state of the Al Franken debate has the potential to move us forward and raise our collective consciousness.
