Alright.
I’m going to attempt something that may never have been attempted since the dawn of humanity: I am going to try and bridge this ridiculous divide and help people see this Ford/Kavanaugh thing from both sides. While I’m pretty sure this ain’t gonna change anything and everyone is still gonna throw rocks at each other, at least I can sleep knowing I tried.
Get comfy, because this is gonna take a minute. But this is a very important issue, and imo one that we SHOULD spend the time considering.
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So, to:
TEAM KAVAUNAUGHTY
First, try to understand the sheer magnitude of frustration and emboldened passion for their world views that most liberals and leftists are experiencing at the moment. Not only do they have no upper hand in Congress, but they recently lost one of the most emotionally charged Presidential elections in American History. Never has the general populace been exposed to the political process as intimately as we have been since the internet and mass communication entered the equation. So try and cut them some slack for being just a wee bit exasperated; any normal human being would be. It’s natural for people to speak up more aggressively/assertively when they are in a weakened position such as the current balance of power; the psychological instinct is to feel a need to defend their beliefs, which is perfectly understandable. Now I’m not saying you should put up with the hatred and vitriol a lot of liberal supporters/media outlets have been spewing, but on an individual level, try and at least get along and be considerate of the struggle when you butt heads. And let’s be fair, when Obama was in office I sure didn’t see a lot of love coming from the right, even when he did things that deserved positive recognition. If the tables were turned, I imagine many of you would be acting in a similar fashion (which is precisely what we saw from 2008-2016).
Now, as far as our current case of America’s divisive flavor of the week: the Ford allegations. Yes, the law and socially-accepted standards of judging whether someone is guilty or not is on your side. We all get that, and to my knowledge there aren’t any liberals/dems refuting that. What they ARE trying to make you understand, however, is that the simple fact that we are undergoing this process to begin with; primarily because it’s regarding a candidate for one of the most powerful positions in human history. A Supreme Court Justice has the ability to affect, and to a certain degree literally dictate, how we as citizens conduct our lives. Paying EXTREME attention to their character, reliability, and general trustworthiness is absolutely paramount when deciding if an individual is worthy of the power to tell us how we’re allowed to live. So yes, the fact that this hiccup has occurred is, in and of itself, profoundly alarming.
This is the main point of Ford’s side that you need to consider when discussing and debating this matter. Because at the end of the day, pretty much everyone falls into one of two categories: you either see past this, or you don’t. EITHER OF WHICH is a completely, rationally justifiable conclusion. It is not at all unfair for someone to say that they would prefer we find a candidate whose history is void of this kind of concern, false or not. Sure, as far as we can all legally say, it didn’t happen. But those who are shaken by the simple possibility that this MIGHT have happened is enough to keep someone up at night. After all, its not like they’re advocating we throw the guy behind bars. They’re just concerned. A reason, which you should know especially if you’ve ever hired someone before, that can be enough to move on to the next resume for some. It’s just a personal preference; nothing more.
Anyway, there are a lot of other moving parts to this side and their motives, but that’s my general take when I try to stand in your opponent’s shoes, Naughty peeps. Please be mindful of these things when you’re telling liberals they’re the devil for trying to deceive their way into power. Not everyone is as evil as we tend to make them out to be, hard as that might be to believe.
Moving on to
TEAM FORD
This won’t take as long because as I mentioned, it doesn’t take a lot of explaining when the law and society’s behavioral status quo is on your opponent’s side. Their argument is pretty easy to understand. Like it or not, the inarguable truth is that barring some kind of DNA trace, picture/non-existent-at-the-time cellphone video, or other form of empirical evidence somehow magically transporting itself through time into the hands of investigators…this ain’t gonna be provable. Even Ford herself gets that, evident through the fact that her attorneys announced that they don’t intend to refute Kav’s testimony. At the end of this week’s FBI probe, the chips will fall where they may, and life will go on.
Its pretty much that simple for Team K. They are the type of folks who view due process as the governing dictator as to how we should formulate opinions and conclusions. Again, perfectly reasonable; especially considering that the entire legal system our forefathers created for us is based upon this exact sentiment. You are innocent until proven guilty, period. Making judgments based on anything less is impermissible and an egregious violation to a dignified, fair society. The line is blurred in this instance, however, because it’s not technically a “legal” matter; it’s an interview. So the question we have to ask is can we take a concern of unsubstantiated allegations into account since this is a slightly more discretionary situation than a formal legal matter? As with all of this, your answer will reflect your own personal beliefs; there’s no black and white correct answer here.
So for you Ford folks, that’s basically what you should consider when you’re accusing Kav supporters of “mansplaining”, bigotry, etc. They are simply a different type of person than you; not the kind who let’s the existence of (you must admit) un-provable doubt bother them when weighing the merits of a candidate. A conflicting, but equally as understandable and fair as your own, world view. This does not in any way make them “insensitive”, condescending to women, or otherwise sinister. I want to be clear on that, because I have seen a ton of these kinds of comments arising out of this case. #METOO is an inexplicably important and beneficial movement, but let’s not get lost in the momentum and unjustly overextend its influence.
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And that’s it, everyone. My point is that we all need to realize that human beings are a very dynamic, diverse, and different (alliteration ftw) group of individuals. The day when we all agree on everything will never arrive, much as we’d like it to. Debates such as the one we’re having right now will always hinder our ability to unite as not only a country, but a species in general. The only choice we have, if we are to ever achieve this unity thing we always hear about (which, confusingly, no one seems to ever do anything about), is to place ourselves in the minds of others and sincerely try to understand them and the forces driving their views. You’ll find that most people have honest intentions.
Oh, and speaking of sincerity. This essay was all a waste of time unless you have asked yourself this very important question: do I SINCERELY, genuinely care about any of this? Dam I truly even concerned about the grand scheme of things and people getting along? Because if we’re speaking plainly, it’s a biologically wired instinct among the Animal Kingdom to be content with our own lives and relationships, without much thought as to what’s going on outside of them. Doesn’t make you a bad person. I say this because it seems a lot of people instead just use these little pop-up conflicts as a convenient means to satisfy the need to share their own opinions, ignoring any concerns to the contrary (the satisfaction of winning Facebook tiffs must be very real, indeed). So if you’ve never looked in a mirror and asked these things, I strongly suggest you do a little soul-searching and self-discovery. Find out who you really are and what you care about; because I think we all know that the biggest lies we tend to tell are the ones we tell ourselves.
One last point. There is another group of people that none of this applies to (and tbh, the cynic in me is concerned this might actually be the majority, if social media is any indicator). These are the ones whose decisions and stances on these things are driven solely by their partisan politics and personal predispositions. No matter how much evidence, logic, or reason they are presented with; they ain’t gonna budge, because they are basically God and always right about everything, ever. These are the guys who will sooner go the grave before admitting they might be wrong about something or attempt to be more open minded. You all know who I’m talking about – those friends and acquaintances who you’ve literally never heard say “I’m sorry” in their lives. Yeah…don’t be one of them.
So to summarize every one of the almost 1,800 words you just read – for Christ’s, Allah’s, Buddha’s, Brahman’s, Vishnu’s, any other Gods I’m leaving outs, and the Universe’s sake: PLEASE try to get along. Like, really make the effort. Next time you feel the anger sharks swimming in your head, take a deep breath. Be the bigger person if someone’s being an ass and kill them with kindness. That’s how you win anyway, isn’t it? Don’t let the jerks think they said anything significant enough to affect you. Set the example they should aspire to.
There. If you made it this far, thank you for listening. If you feel inclined to share this message please do, because this is something which desperately needed to be said and we all know our media/politicians aren’t going to be advocating for the masses coming together anytime soon. If we could begin to think more along the lines mentioned here and start coming together, the power and influence we would hold as a united unit is immeasurable to the point of the world quite literally being transformed. After all, isn’t that the “change” we all like to talk about and wish for? We’ve waited long enough you guys.
This is how it happens.
How the World Should Work 