Hello Meltingpot Readers,
Let’s be clear. I never intended to write about politics on this blog, but I cannot keep silent about the current disaster taking place right now in our nation’s capital. Am I talking about the attempt to nominate Brett Kavanaugh as our next Supreme Court Justice? Yes, yes I am.
Dear readers, last Thursday I got sucked in to watching the riveting testimonies of Dr. Christine Blassey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh as they testified in front of the Senate committee. I was moved to tears by Dr. Ford and I was moved to throw my shoe at the computer screen listening to Mr. Kavanaugh. That man lied so many times it was almost funny. Almost, but not really. In the car on the way home from work, I was still listening to Kavanaugh sidestep every single question thrown his way by the Democratic senators (the Republicans gave him softball questions) and I found myself yelling out loud,
“You’re lying! You lie like a cheap, dirty rug and your nick name is doo-doo.”
I didn’t have a well-formed opinion about Kavanaugh before these hearings, but now, I think the man is a dishonest bully with a major entitlement complex. What’s more, he has never atoned for his past sins against women. In other words, he is horribly unqualified for the position of Supreme Court Justice. If we’re being frank, he seems horribly unqualified for his current job as United States Circuit Court Judge as well. In fact, he seems pretty much unqualified for any job that requires him to interact with other human beings, make decisions or any other role where honesty is deemed necessary.
What I don’t understand is why Brett Kavanaugh felt the need to lie so much. (Actually, I do understand, it’s called white male privilege, but for the sake of this blog post, I need to say that I don’t understand it.). Every boy and girl who ever had the pleasure of hearing the story of Pinocchio or The Boy Who Cried Wolf knows that lying only leads to unhappy endings. You either get swallowed by a whale or all of your sheep get eaten by a wolf. Maybe nobody read those stories to young Brett.
Regardless, whoever gave Brett advice on how to handle these accusations led him totally astray. In my unsolicited opinion, Brett Kavanaugh should have admitted to all of his wrong-doings, from the sexual assaults to the excessive drinking, and then he should have spent all of the rest of his time talking about his redemption, how he is a changed man. People LOVE redemption stories and are often willing to give the guilty a second chance, especially if the life after the crime is one filled with positive acts and goodwill towards men.
Just to prove my point, I have collected a list of five well-known redemption stories from popular culture. If Kavanaugh had followed in the footsteps of some of these men, he could be trying on new Supreme Court Justice robes right now, instead of praying that every single member of the FBI gets struck with a 5-day stomach virus.
1. Malcolm X: Malcolm X spent seven years in prison for burglary. He was an admitted drug user, he ate bacon and he consorted with white women. But that didn’t stop Malcolm from becoming a respected leader of the Muslim faith, a national civil rights leader, an international icon for human rights and beloved husband and father.
2. Barack Obama: In his memoir, Dreams of My Father, our 44th president (and still my president) admitted to feeling lost and wayward in his teen years and smoking marijuana in high school and college. He didn’t deny it, he literally put it in print for the whole world to see. And what happened after he admitted to being a normal teenager who did things he probably shouldn’t have? He was elected leader of the free world. Twice!
4. Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman: This man was a beloved children’s television personality when he was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult film theater. Today, he has his own show on Broadway and is acting again in critically acclaimed dramas. Reuben’s mug shot was impossible to hide, so he couldn’t lie about his crimes. Instead, he quietly waited for time to pass, and re-entered society and resumed his life as an entertainer.
5. Rob Lowe: No disrespect to Rob Lowe, but he would be the perfect actor to play Kavanaugh in the made-for-TV movie version of his life. Lowe himself was accused of sexual harassment, a sex tape with him and a teenager was also part of his horrid past and he was known as an excessive partier and a member of the 1980s Brat Pack. And today? Lowe is a popular and respected actor, who also moonlights as a commercial actor selling weight-loss milkshakes.
If only Brett had looked to some of these guys for inspiration, he might have a chance for a second life. But now, if the FBI can prove just one instance where he lied under oath, he could lose not only the nomination, but his current career as well. The truth could have set him free, but it appears his ego got in the way.
“By a lie, a man…annihilates his dignity as a man.” Immanuel Kant
