Don't! Stop!

I blame Mick Fleetwood. He's the guy who asked Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to be in Fleetwood Mac back in the mid-seventies. That was the alchemical decision that turned them into a Supergroup, responsible for dozens of pop hits. Including "Don't Stop." If you didn't live through the seventies, you might not be familiar with this ditty, penned by Christine McVie about the end of her marriage to Mac's bassist John McVie. It was sung by Mister Buckingham and Ms. McVie, but it helped introduce the world to the messy world of relationships in a rock band.
Like the one being lived by the aforementioned Lindsey Buckingham who was involved with the ethereal presence and vocalist known as Stevie Nicks. There was no hit single describing the abuse Stevie experienced at the hands of her collaborator and paramour. That was just part of the magic that swirled around the band back then.
This magic was powerful enough to last all the way into the early nineties, when Bill Clinton used "Don't Stop" as his campaign's theme song. The disbanded Fleetwood Mac re-banded to play the tune at Bill's 1993 inauguration. It was two years later that President Bill began his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky. Fans of President Bill tend not to throw a light on the indiscretions of their favorite saxophone playing chief executive, but it might be argued that Hillary Clinton was due some special recognition for her patience while her husband sorted out his personal affairs. It was the stuff of impeachment, at least back in those days.
These days? It seems as though most every male human being has been or is becoming incapable of suppressing their prurient impulses. The daily parade of shame continued last week with the naming of Senator Al Franken, an announcement that left me wondering just exactly when this trend might stop. The good news is that women and men who have been oppressed or violated by sexual predators are finally being given a voice, and the actions of men that have been tolerated or excused by so many for so long are being shoved out into the light. The illusory power that men seem to have is been assumed by men is being stripped away. Franken's harassment of Lauren Tweeden comes in like an unwelcome tide that shows no sign of moving back out. The worst part about this story is that it most certainly connects up with others, experienced by victims too ashamed or afraid to come forward.
It also shows up as the allegations against Alabama's Roy Moore continue to muddy the Senate campaign. Al Franken has made his mandated apology. For what it is worth, Ms. Tweeden has accepted, and Franken has joined calls for an ethics probe. On himself. All the while, men continue to float excuses about this and that, including "not remembering" incidents in which they acted deplorably. The victims in these incidents remember.
That's what counts. That's what matters. Don't Stop Believin'.