Want to memorialize here something I said on @amjoyshow today, so there’s a conveniently recoverable record of it:
A lot of talk about how these revelations of sexual abuse from Moore et al reveal some kind of moral-cultural decline. This is wrong.
The revelations are occurring -and have power- not because of a decline in behavior but a rise in ethical standards.
Abuse of the weak by the strong is the most ancient theme of human history.
It’s disgust at abuses of power that is new.
The full and equal humanity of women is also a new idea, one that is still being absorbed in all its radical implications
The reason things seem to be getting worse is that people are demanding better.
True in multiple places & cultures too. There’s awesome justice in both Roy Moore and Tariq Ramadan being exposed so closely together.
I’m not an optimist by nature. But I do sometimes perceive some gifts in this age of Trump. Maybe the revolt against sexual abuse is one of them - or can be, if you demand it
Last thought, a little personal.
I see some comment that this is a tough time for men, that we are all suspects, that this is going to end by never closing a door on a meeting with a female colleague etc etc
On the presumption that we are all making endless clumsy lunges upon every woman in our ambit, hopeless to discern whether our attempt is welcome or not
But for men too as well as for women, the search for love is more rewarding than the hunt for sex. When you find *that,* you’ve found everything. Try it. It’s worth it.
-30-
