If nothing else, the Kavanagh debacle put an end to the myth of the noble man, certainly in public life. The spectacle of Brett Kavanagh and Lindsay Graham reduced to quivering masses of blubberers was, to say the least, embarrassing. The position of judge and senator implies the character of measured thoughtful deliberation, the product of years of experience in tempering the impetuosity of emotion.
Instead we had a series of men act like crybabies in the most august and public of arenas. As the President would say, sad.
Now, one might point out that the entire enterprise was a farce in that if, if, depending on your desire to determine the truth behind the accusations being levied against Judge Kavanagh, the idea that everything we would need to know would be revealed in a hasty public spectacle of a she said, he said senate hearing ,followed by a half-assed FBI inquiry.
It wasn’t going to happen.
Instead, we were then subjected to the caterwauls of prominent public men bemoaning how soon they would all be torn asunder by their adolescent misadventures being resurrected by militant angry ball-busting women. Not a one seemed to recognize or acknowledge the main point being pressed by all those angry women:
That they deserve to be heard; that they’re not all liars or whiners.
That then devolved into the battle of the women who either believed Dr. Ford, or feared for Judge Kavanagh’s reputation. Another blow to the myth of female solidarity. But, if viewed as a conflict between aggrieved girlfriends and protective mothers, it makes all the sense in the world. Mom’s not going to believe her over-achieving son is a prick when he drinks with his buddies, no matter what his bros and homies come forward to admit.
It was just something that happened in the mists of time and that shouldn’t tar the reputations of those men once they move on to positions of authority that affect us all. The reputations of the women who came forward? Will they receive the same spirited defense?
Be honest…
And the noble man?
Will those who cast such vitriol as to make people blanch, now make nice and assure those of us disgusted by their behavior that they can get back to the business of making America great again? Probably.
On the plus side all those responsible for this side-show will one day be cast off this mortal coil knowing that they made good for their backers, while those they poked in the eye should know that time and tide always turn; affectionados of history will make that point. What is done can always be undone. It just doesn’t happen in a day.
As for Kavanagh, he will be, for the foreseeable future, under the microscope in every opinion he’s a part of. If not a noble man, at least the smart man knows when to keep his yap shut when blustering in public. Et tu, Brett?
©2018 David William Pearce
David William Pearce, Writer 