The Silence We Save for Our Own | Opinion

There is something we all have to get better at in politics, and I mean all of us: Holding our own accountable.

We are very good at finding our voices when someone on the other side is accused of something horrific. The outrage comes quickly. We demand answers. We talk about character, integrity and whether someone deserves the public’s trust. Then it involves someone from our own political circles, and too often the response becomes silence. A principle that only applies to your opponents is not much of a principle. You can believe in due process and still say an allegation is serious.

You can refuse to declare someone guilty and still demand that an allegation be investigated thoroughly. You can care about someone personally and still refuse to pretend nothing happened. What we cannot keep doing is screaming when the allegation involves the other team and whispering when it involves ours. Republicans need to hold Republicans accountable. Democrats need to hold Democrats accountable. And sometimes we need to hold our own friends accountable. Otherwise, people have every reason to conclude that the outrage was never really about abuse, racism or sexual violence. It was about politics. And we should expect better from ourselves than that.

Meagan, Fort Lauderdale

The cost of silence

When our children's safety is at risk, we have to ask: What is the cost of silence? There is a difference between accountability and declaring someone guilty. Whether an accused person is guilty is for a court to decide, and every person is entitled to due process. But due process does not require a community to pretend serious allegations do not exist.

I know what this country has done with an accusation against a Black man. I know what a rope and a rumor built throughout Florida and the South. That history is not a reason to say nothing. It is the very reason we need a written rule instead of a mob. A standard protects the child and the accused. Silence protects neither.

Here is the ordinance I want the City of Lauderdale Lakes to consider: No elected official who is the subject of an active criminal investigation involving a minor should participate in, host, or appear at government-sponsored programming for children in their official capacity while that investigation remains open. That is not a finding of guilt. It is not a suspension from office. The official would not lose their vote, pay or seat, and the restriction would end when the investigation closes.

We already understand this principle when it comes to other adults entrusted with children. If a teacher is accused of harming a child, we do not insist that the teacher remain in the classroom until a criminal trial is complete. Precaution is not the same thing as conviction. So why should elected officials be exempt from a basic safeguard we accept elsewhere?

I am asking Lauderdale Lakes to put a standard in writing — one that protects children without abandoning due process. Because silence is never neutral. Silence is a choice, and it always costs somebody.

Athena Gabriella Guice, Lauderdale Lakes

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece discusses allegations involving Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner Easton Harrison. Harrison has denied the allegations and, as of publication, has not been arrested or charged in connection with them. The views expressed by the authors are their own.