Alabama voting: History to Love and Not

Defeated Roy Moore (l), and Alabama's Senator-Elect Doug Jones

I can imagine that after last night’s defeat of accused sexual predator Roy Moore, there were more than a few pre-civil war cemeteries in Alabama that were quite lively with activity. The sound of decayed carcasses spinning in their graves must have been audible for mile around. For the first time in a quarter of a century, Alabama stepped away from their tradition of Republican support (remember Jeff Sessions), to not only do what was right for their state, but for the entire country.

Is the health of the GOP in serious trouble?

A salvo of discontent was sent by the election of last night Doug Jones; the first Democrat elected to the senate in 25 years. It also was another gutting blow in the already wounded GOP elephant. I have often wondered what President Abraham Lincoln, a republican president, and others who were invaluable in the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation would think of the state of their “Grand Old Party” today. It seems difficult to imagine that the party that made it possible for individuals like yours truly to enjoy most of the freedoms of our world, has in the last few years managed to almost completely dissolve the foundation upon which the GOP was built. Adding those spinning remains in the confederate cemeteries all across the south to the tumult, and that foundation is truly in peril.

As you probably know, and lord knows I have mentioned it enough in the past few days and weeks, the big 5-1 is just over the horizon. It is truly hard to believe…but not for the typical reasons one might think of. Sure, aging is never fun; but for those of us still here to enjoy this thing called life, it can be a pretty amazing thing. In my lifetime much has changed; for better and for worse in some instances. But tonight’s message send by the people of Alabama reminded me of an event that occurred in that state just a few years before I was born. The 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham.

Clockwise from top left, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley,
Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair

In the early morning hours of Sunday September 15^th 1963, at least four members of the Ku Klux Klan wired at least 15 sticks of dynamite to a timer and placed them beneath the steps on the east side of the church building. As the children donned their choir robes to participate in that days sermon which was entitled, ironically, “A Love That Forgives,” a call was received by a staffer in the church office. The unidentified caller said only 2 words; “three minutes.” Less than a minute later, at 10:22am, an explosion occurred that ripped a hole seven feet in diameter in the basement wall, and left a crater five feet deep in diameter. Eye witnesses who survived said the force of the blast caused many of those in the basement near the epicenter of the blast to be flung into the air like rag dolls. The result of the bombing was injuries to 22 individuals, and the death of 4 young girls; Addie Mae Collins (age 14), Carol Denise McNair (age 11), Carole Robertson (age 14), and Cynthia Wesley (age 14).

The explosion was so intense that one of the girls' bodies was decapitated and so badly mutilated in the explosion that her body could only be identified through her clothing and a ring. It was a laborious task to even find the bodies of the four, but when they were located the four were said to be “stacked on top of each other, clung together,” according to Reverend John Cross who was the pastor of the church at that time.

Thomas Edwin Blanton, Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry were ultimately identified to be the individuals responsible for the bombing. The most outrageous part of this story is that no prosecutions were sought until 1977, when Robert Chambliss was tried and convicted of the first degree murder of one of the victims, Carol Denise McNair. Blanton and Cherry were each convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 and 2002 respectively, whereas Cash, who died in 1994, was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing.

So, that is the end of my telling of one of the more painful chapters in Alabama’s history. Fast forward to today; if they had survived, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would all be 68 years old. Denise, the bombings youngest fatality would be 66. With the message sent to the old guard of Alabama politics tonight with the election of Senator-elect Jones, it is important to remember these four lives lost. It is also important to remember that this occurred a little more than a half century ago. Without inserting any age jokes, that really isn’t that long ago.

Message received "Mr. President?"

I take some comfort in knowing that last night Alabama voters said no to a history of choosing candidates with somewhat dubious personal histories. It shows that voters are evolving, and are voting for what is right, not just what has been done before. It also shows that an endorsement from a “president” with his own skeletons and secrets being exposed almost daily is not the endorsement one needs to win an election.

 There is an old saying that, paraphrased, says basically we aren’t where we could be as a country, we aren’t where we should be either, but at least we aren’t where we were. Tonight Alabama voters came out to prove that idea to be true. An individual on Twitter summed it up most succinctly by sharing this:

“When ignorance came to destroy democracy
it proved no match for the American People.
Bravo Alabama!”

Until next time…