From the Pulpit: A prayer for our nation

The recent Senate testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh has hit this nation like a national Rorschach test.

The recent Senate testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh has hit this nation like a national Rorschach test. Both speakers were clearly experiencing great personal pain, both have had their families negatively impacted, even threatened, leading up to this hearing. It has been painful to many of us watching them on television in our homes: it is easy to feel empathy for each of these individuals. Dr. Ford did not really want to speak in public or to be known to the nation – she certainly has nothing personally to gain by being dragged through the crucible of this hearing. It was clear that each time she had to retell the story of her attack as she remembers it, it was quite painful for her. It seemed to me at least that she was being utterly sincere, and that she allowed herself to be astoundingly vulnerable, with the nation watching her. And at the same time, when Brett Kavanaugh gave his testimony, I could not help but wonder if he was, indeed, as he represented himself, having his “good name” and all his decades of service in the federal government sunk in shame.

This is painful – no matter which side of the political spectrum you find yourself on. As a member of the clergy, and as a person committed to the Jewish faith which upholds the values of truth and justice, it is painful to think that we might as a nation draw the wrong conclusion: either to place a person on the highest court in the land whose youthful misdeeds ought to disqualify him for such a position, and who goes so far as to lie under oath – or to wrongfully ruin an honest man based on the uncorroborated recollections of a survivor of sexual trauma whose memory might somehow be less than 100% accurate.

Certainly there is much that is underhanded in American politics today – but in truth this has always been the case, going back to the time of our founding fathers. But that does not mean that the American people can only think in terms of Republicans v. Democrats, liberals v. conservatives. While watching, I found myself wanting to tell all those who suggested that this is all a big political game: “No, we hate this! We actually want to know what is the TRUTH!” We don’t want anyone to be condemned to professional ruin, to have their reputations muddied and their families traumatized as part of a political scrimmage. I would venture that my feelings are shared by most Americans.

I am writing these words on Thursday afternoon, before any of this has been resolved, and I am impressed by how many people have signed written testimonies to the character of the court nominee. But I am also struck by how each time the nominee has been asked whether he would himself request of the committee or of the president that they re-open his FBI background check – so that they could gather more clarifying information – he evaded the question and tried to change the subject.

Why is all this happening? In the end, it seems to be not so much because of something that did or didn’t happen back in 1982 between two or three teenagers, but because of what is at stake with reference to the make up of the Supreme Court. Our society has become so polarized that Congress has at times ground to a halt, finding it impossible to reach compromises and advance legislation that is acceptable to a broad swath of Americans – therefore each end of the political spectrum has begun to look to the Supreme Court to serve their own team’s ends. First the Republicans decided to refuse to consider any nominee during President Obama’s last year as president; now they accuse Democrats of using this request for a reopening of an FBI background check on Kavanaugh as a tactic to delay his confirmation (or rejection) until after the midterm elections - hoping that they will come into the majority in time to be able to block overly-conservative judges.

What is an honest person to think? We all wish it were simple, that we could know the unvarnished truth, know that innocent people were not being smeared, and also not overlook the possible sexual violence done to a 15-year old girl who has apparently lived with the repercussions of this trauma for decades. I think it is important for a person committed to searching out the truth and wanting justice to prevail to keep an open mind as to who is actually telling the truth – I refuse to decide along partisan lines. But what this hearing brings to light painfully for all Americans is that we are a house severely divided.

What bearing do our faith traditions have on all this? I think that if we heed the calls of all the world’s major faiths to earnestly seek out the truth, to strive after justice for all strata of society regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or national origin, if we truly have the good of all in mind, and if we strive with good will to be the best participants we can in the still-ongoing American experiment that is democracy – while praying for the health of our nation – maybe we still have a chance to pull through this difficult time.

When I am feeling pessimistic about our nation, I think of those young students from Florida’s Stoneman Douglas High School who led a march on Washington last spring – most of them not old enough to vote, but already becoming fully-fledged participants in democracy. Will the next generation be able to forge a “more perfect union” than the current one? May those of us who are part of this fractured era cherish such engaged young people and encourage all efforts to build together a nation which will truly offer “liberty and justice for all” –yes, for all its inhabitants.

Shoshana Brown serves as cantor and spiritual leader at Temple Beth El of Fall River.