Latest / Voices Of Life / Did You Know? - October 15: From Calendar Reform to Cultural Reckoning: #MeToo, Clarence Thomas, and the Call for a #NotMe Movement
Transcript
- 0:00There are stories we remember, and there are
- 0:03stories we forget. There are moments that changed
- 0:06a nation, changed a church, changed a generation.
- 0:11And sometimes, the most fascinating stories are
- 0:15the ones we never learned. Welcome to Voices
- 0:18of Life. Did you know series? A journey through
- 0:22history, where remarkable people, extraordinary
- 0:25events, faith, freedom, courage, sacrifice, and
- 0:28even the unexpected, come together. From the
- 0:32pages of American history. to the story of the
- 0:35church, from famous names to people whose names
- 0:39have nearly been forgotten. Every episode asks
- 0:42a simple question. Did You Know? Your host, Pastor
- 0:49David. Welcome to the Voices of Life Did You
- 0:54Know series. I'm Pastor David. Today we take
- 0:57a look at October 15th through the centuries
- 0:59and the impact it has had on the United States
- 1:03as well as the world. From everything from calendars
- 1:07to confirmations, to hurricanes let's begin did
- 1:12you know that october 15 1582 followed october
- 1:184th 1582 with 10 days missing in between how
- 1:23could that be well pope gregory the 13th ordered
- 1:29the reform to correct centuries of drift in the
- 1:32julian calendar the adjustment aligned a calendar
- 1:35with the solar year and the timing of Easter.
- 1:39Italy, Spain, and Portugal adopted it immediately,
- 1:43while Protestant nations waited nearly two centuries.
- 1:48Britain and American colonies didn't make the
- 1:50change until 1752, when September 2nd was followed
- 1:55by September 14th. This reform reminds us that
- 1:59faith and science have often worked together,
- 2:02and that the church once shaped not only Theology,
- 2:08but time itself. Did you know that on October
- 2:1415, 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck the Carolinas
- 2:19with winds up to 150 miles per hour? Hazel destroyed
- 2:24entire coastal towns, carried its fury inland,
- 2:28and reached all the way to Canada. It was one
- 2:32of the few hurricanes that kept its strength
- 2:34far from the sea For Tennessee and inland communities,
- 2:38Hazel's story is a warning. Disaster doesn't
- 2:42stop at the shoreline. Preparedness, compassion,
- 2:47and community response remain the lessons of
- 2:51Hazel's legacy. Did you know that on October
- 2:5415, 1976, Walter Mondale and Bob Dole faced off
- 3:01on the first televised vice presidential debate?
- 3:06It was a new tradition in American politics,
- 3:09a chance for voters to see the second -in -command
- 3:12candidates speak for themselves. Television changed
- 3:15everything. It turned political dialogue into
- 3:18national theater and reminded Americans that
- 3:22leadership is not only about policy, it is about
- 3:26character, clarity, and conviction. Did you know
- 3:32that on October 15, 1846, Isaac Hecker took his
- 3:37vows as a redemptionist priest. Hecker believed
- 3:41in Catholicism could thrive in America's democratic
- 3:45culture. He later founded the Paulist Fathers,
- 3:50a congregation devoted to evangelization and
- 3:55dialogue. Hecker's vision was simple yet profound.
- 4:00Faith should not retreat from society. It should
- 4:03engage it. His life reminds us that conviction
- 4:07and culture can coexist when truth leads the
- 4:10conversation. The last two segments of today,
- 4:14you will see that there is some connection and
- 4:17relevance. Let's start off with our fifth segment.
- 4:20Did you know that on October 15, 1991, Clarence
- 4:24Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court after
- 4:27enduring one of the most contentious hearings
- 4:30in American history? President George H .W. Bush
- 4:36had nominated Thomas to succeed Justice Thurgood
- 4:40Marshall, but his confirmation became a national
- 4:44spectacle when Anita Hill accused him of sexual
- 4:48harassment. The hearings were broadcast live,
- 4:52and the country watched as senators, journalists,
- 4:56and commentators turned the process into a public
- 4:59trial. Thomas denied the allegations, calling
- 5:03the ordeal a high -tech lynching. His words captured
- 5:07the sense of injustice felt by many Americans
- 5:11who saw the hearings as a political theater,
- 5:14not a fair investigation. That moment revealed
- 5:18how easily accusations can replace evidence and
- 5:22how quickly the court of public opinion can drown
- 5:25out the truth. Thomas was confirmed by a narrow
- 5:29vote of 52 to 48 and went on to become one of
- 5:33the longest serving Supreme Court justices in
- 5:37U .S. history. His experience stands as a warning.
- 5:41When politics and media merge into judgment,
- 5:45justice itself is put on trial. Which brings
- 5:49us to our last segment today. Did you know that
- 5:54the viral Me Too movement began on October 15,
- 5:592017. But its roots go back to activist Tarana
- 6:05Burke's work a decade earlier. The movement raised
- 6:09awareness of sexual harassment and abuse. But
- 6:12it also revealed how public opinion can become
- 6:15a courtroom without due process. In recent years,
- 6:20we've seen many of these examples. For today,
- 6:23let's use the Cornell 7 case. where accusations
- 6:27were amplified before evidence was even examined.
- 6:31Government officials such as Attorney General
- 6:34Letitia James, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Representative
- 6:38Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez have often spoke publicly
- 6:42before investigations were complete, creating
- 6:45a climate where the media and politics merge
- 6:49into judgments. Their own words were saying,
- 6:53that there was guilt before even an investigation.
- 6:57That's not justice. That's trial by headline.
- 7:01The principle of fairness demands that the truth
- 7:04be tested, not assumed. Men and women alike deserve
- 7:08protection from abuse, but also protection from
- 7:11false accusations. When institutions and officials
- 7:15abandon their impartiality, they undermine both
- 7:19justice and compassion, and they bring disgrace.
- 7:23to their office perhaps it's time for a not me
- 7:28movement a call for accountability evidence and
- 7:31balance a reminder that every person regardless
- 7:34of gender has the right to be heard and the right
- 7:37to be presumed innocent until proven guilty so
- 7:41far the me too movement and accusations like
- 7:44the cornell 7 have only gone against men it's
- 7:47never protected men and there have been men who
- 7:50have been victims so it cannot be a one -way
- 7:54street it must be both or you're going to have
- 7:56a me too movement for women and a not me movement
- 7:59for men and both have equal or deserve equal
- 8:05justice scripture teaches us speak up for those
- 8:10who cannot speak for themselves proverbs 31 verses
- 8:148 through 9 and that includes those silenced
- 8:19by accusation before truth is known Justice must
- 8:23be blind, not biased. History teaches us that
- 8:28truth and time always reveal what emotion and
- 8:31politics try to hide. From the calendar reform
- 8:34from 1582 to the storms of 1954, from the debates
- 8:39that shaped our republic to movements that test
- 8:44our conscience, October 15th reminds us that
- 8:48faith, reason, and fairness must walk together.
- 8:53I'm Pastor David. This has been Voices of Life.
- 8:57Did you know? May truth guide your words and
- 9:01may justice guard your heart. We'll see you next
- 9:03time. And that concludes this edition of Voices
- 9:07of Life. Did you know? History gives us more
- 9:10than dates and names. It gives us stories. Stories
- 9:14of courage and failure, faith and doubt, freedom
- 9:18and sacrifice, and people who face moments that
- 9:21change the course of history. But history isn't
- 9:24just about what happened then. It's about what
- 9:26we can learn from it now. Thank you for joining
- 9:29Pastor David in Voices of Life. Until our next
- 9:32journey through history, keep asking questions,
- 9:35keep learning, and remember, you never know what
- 9:39you might discover when you simply ask. Did you
- 9:42know? This is Voices of Life. Until next time.