So, I predict that, no, Brett Kavanaugh will not be sacrificed. I predict that women will yet again be slut-shamed, silenced, and slammed against the wall to be left to bleed out, not yet seeing our hopes for justice to prevail.
OK, according to those who support The Honorable Judge Brett Kavanaugh, he has had a stellar legal career and his personal life is above reproach. Well, maybe not the last part of that, but still . . . he has an enviable school record, upbringing, and career.
And, because he’s a judge, he may be awarded the title of “Your Honor” or the Honorable Brett Kavanaugh.
But is he a man of honor?
Look, we all seriously messed up in our younger days. Well, most of us. Or at least I did. That’s not the issue here. The issue is not acknowledging that our possible (even unremembered) mess-ups may have caused some severe trauma to others.
An honorable person, when confronted with possible misdeeds from years earlier, does not call the accuser a liar. S/he acknowledges that none of us have perfect memories and none of us has perfect lives and it is very possible that some of our actions may have indeed been seriously hurtful to others.
An honorable person does not immediately leap to defend him/herself at the cost of character assassination of the others.
An honorable person recognizes that we each have experiences that others may not be able to fully enter into, and does not dismiss them as fabrications.
An honorable person does not surround a vulnerable person with those who have the power to destroy a life and demand answers from that person without protection.
An honorable person recognizes his/her place of privilege and how much one’s own power can affect those with less power. Out of this acknowledgment, humility springs forth and offers space and safety to the less privileged one.
An honorable person asks forgiveness for having caused hurt, even if it may have been inadvertent or memory-blocked by alcohol, and seeks restorative actions.
So far, nothing I have seen of the Honorable Brett Kavanaugh gives him the right to be called honorable. If he were, he would have asked for his confirmation hearings to be delayed until all, and I do mean all, evidence of his past legal life and his past possible sexually predatory activities have been put out for all to see.
He has lost his right to be called Honorable or a Justice–for a Justice seeks justice for all, not just for himself.
I will say this: I feel sorry for him, despite the fact that I don’t particularly want him to be confirmed. By latching himself onto Trump, he thought he had secured for himself a very, very nice career, income, status and national influence. But by latching himself to a dishonorable man, he chose to deny the stains of his own life and to act with destructive hubris, not appropriate humility. These actions suggest that he is not the appropriate person to be adjuticating over decisions will change the direction of this nation forever.
Right now, Brett Kavanaugh’s actions strongly suggest he is neither honorable nor just. Despite his qualifications otherwise, he has displayed a lack of character for one who will hold that kind of power for the rest of his life.
Let this be a lesson to all of us: there are no more secrets. Not now, now in the days of #metoo. Ultimately, this is a good thing, as much as most of us would prefer that parts of our lives remained unexamined. In time, perhaps, we will all learn to be more honest, and more faithful and caring in our treatment of others.
Will Kavanaugh be sacrificed on the altar of preyed upon women? Unfortunately, that depends on the honor of his defenders. Because Evangelicals (Franklin Graham, anyone? He’s claimed that Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assault, whether true or not, is not relevant to the situation) are 100% for him, no matter what, I do seriously question their honor.
As for the GOP: unfortunately, it is more and more being labeled the party of scared old white men who have little regard for women or other more vulnerable people. Fine for the moment for them and their careers. Disastrous for their souls and for the future of the USA.
So, I predict that, no, Kavanaugh will not be sacrificed. I predict that women will yet again be slut-shamed, silenced, and slammed against the wall to be left to bleed out, not yet seeing our hopes for justice to prevail.
And we will have a dishonorable man with entirely too much power. Nothing new in history here but perhaps, just perhaps, the tide will turn.
Photo Credit: David Hayward, AKA The Naked Pastor, used with permission.
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