The Extinction of US Ethics

Brett Kavanaugh is now a Supreme Court Justice.

We listened as a nation to 4 hours of testimony where his emotional state countered the impartialness that is imperative when concerning the most powerful judges in the nation. We watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford come forth and recount her truth that became an international debate, all the while knowing what happens to victims who speak out. We saw our president ridicule and mock her as an assault victim because she could not fully recount the events that took place 36 years earlier.

What is a verdict and what is a case without a thorough investigation? The FBI interviewed “key” witnesses like one would lazily throw a hot pocket into a microwave for a “well-balanced” meal. The lack of testimony from the main subjects within the case, and those who collaborated Kavanaugh’s behavior in college were neglected. Those interviewed included Mark Judge, Chris Garrett, P.J. Smith, Leland Keyser, Timothy Gaudette – all classmates of Ford and Kavanaugh. Three other witnesses the FBI will not name publicly.

Guess who wasn’t interviewed before Kavanaugh took the swing seat of the judiciary branch? The FBI did not interview Kavanaugh himself with the basis of not receiving the proper permission from the White House to do so. They also did not interview Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, her husband Russell Ford, Julie Swetnick who accuses Kavanaugh of being present during gang rapes in college, Jeremiah Hanafin who conducted the polygraph test Ford passed earlier this year, Kavanaugh’s classmates in high school and his classmates in college, and a list of more than 20 witnesses provided by the victims.

This was enough of a “sufficient” investigation for two key Republican votes, Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), to make their decision in backing Kavanaugh in what is seen as the most controversial nomination in United States history.  In a 50-48 vote, Kavanaugh barely moved forward with his nomination but did, and will now be serving a life term in our highest judicial system in the US.

The Senate and Supreme Court is now ruled by Republicans. A huge victory for the Republicans perhaps, but a great loss for the image of the Court itself that has been done with irreversible damage. Kavanaugh’s statement during his hearing that he is a “neutral arbiter” defies what we saw as a nation, and takes away from the legitimacy of the Supreme Court itself, which we hold higher in regard to any other court in the nation.

What has been lost is more than a swing seat for the citizens of the U.S. With Kavanaugh now on the Supreme Court, the decisions made that will benefit the right wing are almost certain. It is known that he is highly opposed to Planned Parenthood and women’s rights will be subject to change with the impending case to reverse Roe V. Wade.

Known comically now as the Kavanaugh Court, I expect to see changes that seem to only benefit religiously and right wing motivated incentives that can only come to damage the rights of women, minorities, LGBTQ+ and anything that doesn’t come in an old, white male version.

Kavanaugh may have won, but the true loss is not only disregarding a woman recounting her horrendous endeavors to stand up for what is right, it is the ethical standard we “uphold” in the U.S. for the 3 branches of government. Only time will expose the damage done by those that we ultimately chose to represent our nation.