No Day in Court

Oh, he tells me tears are something to hide
And something to fear
And I try so hard to keep it inside
So no one can hear
--'Til Tuesday

During my industry days, a series of fortuitous promotions landed me in the executive suite of a large corporation at a young age. I was surrounded by veteran managers--many more than double my age. As the Young Turk, I was anxious to make big change, and often grew frustrated when the execs around me wanted to slow it down and take more measured approaches. 

After a meeting where the top management team decided to table my recommendations for a later date, a sage vice president--probably the closest person I had to a 'mentor' at the company--sensed my discontent and stopped by my office for a chat. He told me to avoid feeling discouraged. He said that the senior management group valued my enthusiasm and needed my ideas. 

But he also suggested that I needed to "respect the process." By that he meant that the way the company moved forward was creating forums for people to present their ideas and concerns to the decision-making hierarchy. It was the responsibility of decision-makers to listen, and then to thoughtfully deliberate on recommendations presented in those forums before rendering decisions.

Then he paused and said to me, "Those decisions might not always go the way you want. But no matter which way they go, know that you had your day in court."

Subsequently, I came to realize that 'the process' served not only search purposes, but also as an outlet for expression and concerns. A listening post and relief valve of sorts.

Unfortunately, legal institutions that offer similar forums for relief have failed since last November's election. For example, judges across the land have stonewalled legal challenges to the election process and its results. Claims that tens of millions of people had their votes disenfranchised have not been heard.

The wounds inflicted by this institutional failure are certain to fester, for the claimants have been denied their day in court.