TEXAS FAITH: Should Herman Cain's accusers step forward?

Herman Cain and Sharon Bialek

Even though we are a culturally advanced society, we are still not there in feeling, acting and believing that women and men are equal. Women still have to prove that their word is as good as the man's word and the fallacy that they are supposed to endure the harassment rather than mess up things - Mike Ghouse

As you know, Herman Cain faces allegations that he sexually harassed female employees during his time at the National Restaurant Association. The Republican fervently denies the charges, although there are reports that settlements have been made in these cases. Cain's story about those settlements continues to evolve.

As this story unfolds, I would like to hear you talk about the obligation of the women in this episode. It is natural that they would want to avoid a media firestorm. But don't they have a moral obligation to step forward and tell their side of the story, like former NRA employee Sharon Bialek did on Monday?

Twelve of us wrote about it in Dallas Morning News, mine is here under,  for all the twelve takes, please visit: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/11/as-you-know-herman-cain.html  and share your comment at the link.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

The women who were alleged to be harassed by presidential candidate Herman Cain do have the moral obligation to tell their side of the story, just as the candidate tells his version. By not telling the story they would be perpetuating the very thing they loathe; sexual harassment.

What does it take for the other women to fulfill their moral obligation? First, a conducive social environment is needed. Second,  a lot of guts on the part of a woman to withstand brutal scrutiny.

Even though we are a culturally advanced society, we are still not there in feeling, acting and believing that women and men are equal. Women still have to prove that their word is as good as the man's word and the fallacy that they are supposed to endure the harassment rather than mess up things.

Here is some of the real elevator conversation on Monday evening in reference to the questions Sharon Bialek was thrown at the press conference. Was she on welfare? Is she trying to make money out of it? Is she looking for a book contract? One of them said that she will give an exclusive interview to one of those competitive (bad words) media outlets; another one declared that she is a gold digger.

As an activist I spoke up, "Ok, how does that wash away the character of Candidate Cain? Except me, all the men were Caucasians and one of them looked at me condescendingly and said, "You don't understand, she is white trash and so was her attorney."

I retorted back, "do you want a president who may be lying to you and me today? No one talked and the elevator opened and we silently walked out."

Sharon Bialek must be admired for gathering the guts to speak up; it takes an inordinate amount of courage given the still primitive social environment we live in. We must hail her for sharing her version of the story. Bialek was clear, "I was not paid to come forward, nor was I promised any employment." Attorney Gloria Allred indeed paved the way for a positive change by labeling sexual harassment of a potential job giver as stimulus package.

As a society, we have come a long way. Sharon Bialek and her attorney have given a boost to women's emancipation. Despite the motivations and accusations, Bialek fulfilled her moral obligation to tell her version of the story. The media was indeed crude. I hope they would remain brutal to the candidates as well to find the truth for us, the people.

We should expect the presidential candidates to be as truthful and honest as one can be, so we can expect that he or she will stick to the same principles and carry on the business of governance with integrity. However, we have had presidents as well as candidates who were not entirely truthful.

The right to elect a candidate comes with the responsibility to scrutinize the candidate. This is where our media plays a crucial role in preserving our system of checks and balances for us, the people.

The responsibility of a society evolves out of necessity to create an environment where the victims don't get further victimized for telling the truth. We still have ways to go to give full meaning to the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a write committed to a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. All his work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net