As the token male, as well as the token American, on this blog I feel, if not qualified, then at least compelled, to put forward my opinion.
Judge Bret Kavanaugh has been confirmed as the latest member of the Supreme Court of the USA. It is all over but the shouting, which I expect will go on for some time. But, so far, no one has asked the most important question.
Was Christine Ford telling the truth?
Of course she was. Either that, or she missed her calling and the theater has been robbed of an outstanding actress.
Was Bret Kavanaugh telling the truth?
Of course he was. How could be he expected to remember a single, callous incident in a string of callow and reprehensible behaviors?
The very probable truth, therefore, is that he did just what Ford accused him of, but he can’t remember doing it, while she, quite naturally, can’t forget it. The question is, should that act keep him from being appointed a Supreme Court Justice? The answer to that, much as I would like it to be otherwise, is, of course not.
If every judge, justice, politician and community leader—male or female—had their lives, from the time they were teenagers to present day, picked over and put under the microscope in search of any act that someone can assign offense to, then no one would be left standing. None of us is the sum-total of the worst thing we have ever done. Are we to say that there is no repenting, no redemption? Are past indiscretions to be carried around with us like a rotting albatross? If we demand that of Kavanaugh, then we demand it of ourselves.and I doubt there is a one among us who could live up to the standards we seem to be demanding of him.
So, Kavanaugh was confirmed, as he should have been.
That said, Trump has now stacked the Supreme Court, as well as the judiciary throughout the country, toward the far right, assuring that his legacy will be felt long after he has left office. A not-so-over-the-top prediction is: the Government will take back control of a woman’s body by making abortion illegal. But what next? Creationism made mandatory in schools, and evolution pushed to the side, or banned altogether? A revival of the laws that make homosexuality a crime? A banning of certain religions? Could this really happen? You don’t have to look too far away, or too far back in time, to see that it is frighteningly possible.
And this will happen because this is what the American people want. Much as we like to believe conspiracy theories, Trump was not elected by Russian hackers, he was elected by the American people. And if the sleeping conscience of America cannot stir itself out of its lethargy for the mid-term elections, then Trump will not only fill out his current term, he will likely win a second one, and then it will be Pence’s turn.
America is already a marginally more dangerous place for women, minorities and the LBGT community. If the current trajectory is allowed to continue, American will only be safe for Straight, White, Protestant men.
I see a dark future for America, one that may last a long time. I can only pray they prove me wrong.
Mike
Judge Bret Kavanaugh has been confirmed as the latest member of the Supreme Court of the USA. It is all over but the shouting, which I expect will go on for some time. But, so far, no one has asked the most important question.
Was Christine Ford telling the truth?
Of course she was. Either that, or she missed her calling and the theater has been robbed of an outstanding actress.
Was Bret Kavanaugh telling the truth?
Of course he was. How could be he expected to remember a single, callous incident in a string of callow and reprehensible behaviors?
The very probable truth, therefore, is that he did just what Ford accused him of, but he can’t remember doing it, while she, quite naturally, can’t forget it. The question is, should that act keep him from being appointed a Supreme Court Justice? The answer to that, much as I would like it to be otherwise, is, of course not.
If every judge, justice, politician and community leader—male or female—had their lives, from the time they were teenagers to present day, picked over and put under the microscope in search of any act that someone can assign offense to, then no one would be left standing. None of us is the sum-total of the worst thing we have ever done. Are we to say that there is no repenting, no redemption? Are past indiscretions to be carried around with us like a rotting albatross? If we demand that of Kavanaugh, then we demand it of ourselves.and I doubt there is a one among us who could live up to the standards we seem to be demanding of him.
So, Kavanaugh was confirmed, as he should have been.
And this will happen because this is what the American people want. Much as we like to believe conspiracy theories, Trump was not elected by Russian hackers, he was elected by the American people. And if the sleeping conscience of America cannot stir itself out of its lethargy for the mid-term elections, then Trump will not only fill out his current term, he will likely win a second one, and then it will be Pence’s turn.
America is already a marginally more dangerous place for women, minorities and the LBGT community. If the current trajectory is allowed to continue, American will only be safe for Straight, White, Protestant men.
I see a dark future for America, one that may last a long time. I can only pray they prove me wrong.
Mike
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