Kavathoughts

In light of the recent hearings involving the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and subsequent allegations about past sexual assaults he may have committed, I spoke to a good friend about her feelings about the situation.

I contended that although the accusations are damming and possibly indicative of a dangerous flaw in the moral character of Kavanaugh, these accusations are, nonetheless, largely unsubstantiated. If they were to be true, I do not believe that they would be grounds for disqualification on their own. After all, the person who I was when I was seventeen and the person I am now are vastly different and I am only twenty four years old. People should be allowed to grow, learn, atone, and evolve past their actions. To hold someone accountable for their actions is fair, to judge someone for the actions committed by a former version of themselves is not. However, if they are true and Kavanaugh continues to deny that they ever happened as he has, then that would be indicative of a major ethical failing from an individual who would be appointed to interpret what is and isn’t just, and that would be disqualifying.

Now, I should say that after listening to Christine Ford’s testimony, I found her to be credible and honest. Although I know next to nothing about her character, I do see a woman who came forward with a story that can be very damming to her and her career, she put herself at risk to do what she believed was the right thing to do. I think that is brave. I also find it disturbing that a man who has now three different allegation of sexual violence and impropriety on his record, is on the verge of being placed in a position in which he would get to decide on the constitutionality and strength of precedence of cases like Roe v. Wade. I could be wrong, but based on the statements of the president who appointed him and some of the positions Kavanaugh himself has taken, I do believe that if given the opportunity he would rule against Roe v. Wade. There is something that just seems inherently wrong with a man who has been accused of sexual violence making decisions about women’s reproductive health.

With that said, there is no way to know with absolute certainty whether these events did happen. Gun to my head, I’d probably say that they did, I find the accuser more credible than the accused in this scenario. But I don’t really know, and that is a little scary. Should the wife of Caesar be above suspicion in this scenario? Who knows! But it’s the Supreme Court. The cases this man will be charged with deciding will shape our country for decades. That responsibility cannot be understated. In an ideal world, only the best legal minds and most pure of characters should be given the duty to decide what justice is for us all. But honestly, we have done a poor job in the past to put the best of us on the court (see Clarence Thomas). Maybe this is the time to raise that standard.