This article was written by Kenzo Kimura, class of 2019.
I think I speak for a lot of Americans when I stand speechless, unable to convey a single positive message about our government after seeing the Kavanaugh hearings back in late September. I think the majority of viewers watching the hearings expected something different; something less partisan and more judicial. Every day since the premature 2016 campaign of Donald Trump’s Presidential running, we’ve heard countless stories of misogyny, sexism as well as movements against sexual abuse within our government.
The hearings and decisions towards the Supreme Court Justice appointment of Brett Kavanaugh symbolize more than just a shift in our political system; they represent how far we’ve come yet how we’ve barely progressed when it comes to testing our nation’s solidarity towards women. Kavanaugh’s exposé highlighted a social climate within our country, showing how limitless the patriarchy’s tests of resentment have been played within politics. Doreen St. Félix, writer for The New Yorker, expresses the inappropriateness of the “no shame” attitude dozens, especially Kavanaugh, presented during the hearing. She wrote how there was “not even a hint of the sagacity one expects from a potential Supreme Court Justice. More than presenting a convincing rebuttal to Ford’s extremely credible account, Kavanaugh—and Hatch, and Lindsey Graham—seemed to be exterminating, live, for an American audience, the faint notion that a massively successful white man could have his birthright questioned or his character held to the most basic type of scrutiny.”
Through the eyes of a student, I saw past the politics involved and did my best to interpret the situation without bias. Instead, numerous thoughts of anger, confusion and disapproval shot into my mentality as not a Democrat or Republican, but as a person. I realized that, regardless of Dr. Ford’s testimonies and evidence, Kavanaugh had a higher chance of becoming Supreme Court Justice for life than she did of winning the case. Having a man with so much controversy surrounding him stand as such a powerful representative for this nation’s judicial system shows that we genuinely do not have the perfect system. All the witnesses, all the sincere recollections and all the media coverage felt superficial after Kavanaugh won with the senate votes.
I feel that we as a younger generation currently watching the injustices taking place need to take action towards what is happening throughout our government. Instead of leaving forgotten sexual allegations like these as precedent, we need to stop ruling things through politics and see things as people. Regardless if you believe or don’t believe Dr. Ford’s testimony, what everyone can agree is that no man — especially a SCOTUS Justice — should have that much controversy to his name.
