Hear No Evil. See No Evil.

As the trial in the courthouse in New York City unfolded from first gavel to last, we were deaf and blind to what was transpiring behind those closed doors. Hear no evil. See no evil.

The courtroom artist our eyes. The journalists emerging from this walled off fortress our ears. In the trial of the century, maybe of any century in this nation's history, one in which a former President stood accused of having manipulated the system to insure that facts which may have doomed him in 2016 never emerged, the comings and goings inside this criminal courtroom were shielded from our view. Who knows how differently our history would have been written had that $130,000 payment not been made, if in the days leading up to that earlier election we had heard from Stormy Daniels rather than from James Comey and his insinuations, intended or not, about the propriety of the conduct of Hillary Clinton. And who knows how differently this November's election might unfold because we were not allowed inside Judge Merchan's courtroom.

Polls taken over the course of these past weeks reveal that only a smattering of the population paid close attention to the whys, the whos and hows of what has been happening. Its impact seemingly negligible on most of those who may well decide the course this nation takes in the years to come. 

We all know from what occurred nearly 30 years ago, as each of us was permitted entry into the courtroom where a former running back of great renown was accused of committing two brutal murders, that we were as one transfixed. That trial lasting far longer than this. That verdict one in which virtually all were heavily invested.

In the prosecution of Donald J Trump, we merely had drawings of a somber, maybe napping Defendant.  The testimony presented was not the subject of our internal cross examination, but rather relayed as if this was a giant game of telephone with 340 million people.

In a universe in which Donald Trump could spout off his contempt for the proceedings as he emerged each day from inside a room he described as being nothing but desultory and insulting, when he could take to Truth Social and repeatedly shape and frame what was being said from his "unique" perspective, when his lackeys, masquerading as the elite of his party, these men and women assigned to stand guard over our democracy, could shamelessly stand before the cameras and proclaim everything that was happening to be a sham, we were denied the opportunity to frame these propaganda statements against the realities of the day in court.

I know the tired tripes about protecting the integrity of the proceedings. That is hogwash. This trial would not have deviated from where it went if there one or one hundred tv cameras there. And if it was alleged it had somehow wandered off course, we could judge that for ourselves. Maybe Mr. Trump might have taken more No Doze so he would not run the risk of being called sleepy Don. Or possibly he would have appeared as but a tired old man.

But maybe he had it all figured out. Maybe he understood that if he closed his eyes and ears to the particulars then it would be as if it never happened. That if he just slept through this trial, it would seem as if it was for him, nothing but a bad dream. And when he woke, he could just pretend it was of no consequence. As if nothing had changed in the slightest.

And if that is so for him, what then was it like for the rest of us who were not there? And in particular for those who may not yet have decided if Donald Trump belongs in heaven or Hell.

Hear no evil. See no evil. That is exactly why we should all have been part of this jury. To do less was, for the public if not for the former President, a grave injustice.