Like many young girls of my generation, I was conflicted about what I wanted to be when I grew up. This was the 1960s when the possibilities for females were expanding beyond the roles of housewife and mother, nurse, or teacher. My parents told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be.
For me that meant trying to decide between journalism (like my Sunday comics hero, Brenda Starr – a ravishing redhead much like myself!) or law. At that time, no woman had been appointed to the highest court in the land so I teased myself with the idea of being the first woman Justice. What an honor, I thought!
I don’t see it that way anymore.
Today’s Supreme Court has lost its way and become an ideological minefield of political and religious perspectives that would appall the founding fathers. Our lawmakers have made the Court into a puppet body that sways with the political winds. They have tarnished this once-exalted body of jurists.
It begins with the nomination and confirmation process, which has changed several times since the ratification of our Constitution, culminating in a rule change in 2017 that allowed the nominee to be confirmed with a simple majority instead of a three-fifths supermajority. It can be argued that without this change today’s hyper-partisan Senate would never agree enough to confirm anyone, and the Court would have multiple vacant seats. Not an ideal situation but tell me how that situation would be worse than what we are experiencing today?
A nominee is faced with questions designed to ferret out any hint of what a future decision might be on the nation’s most controversial issues. It doesn’t seem to matter whether a nominee is qualified for the position: Have they ever been a judge? Do they understand the gravitas of this position? Are they beholden to politics instead of the Constitution?
I don’t have strong enough words to describe the hypocrisy of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s actions surrounding the nomination and confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. I stumble trying to understand how Sen. McConnell can look at himself in a mirror and not perish from humiliation. It boggles the mind.
I worry that it is already too late for the Supreme Court to be redeemed. Those around me all speak of their distrust of the Court and their certainty that politics are now the preeminent factor behind their rulings. The trust is gone. The honor is gone.
I guess I’m glad I chose to be a journalist instead.