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KAVANAUGH: SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH



By John Pasch

The United States Supreme Court is arguably the most powerful institution of the government next to only the President. Recently, a spot became vacant on the Court and President Donald Trump appointed judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the position. The appointment and installment, however, didn’t go as smoothly as people had hoped or anticipated.                                               

After Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, there was a swarm of sexual misconduct allegations, worthy of disqualification. As striking as this may seem, cases like this have become all too common today. They either didn’t exist in such a multitude in the earlier years of American politics/society, which is unlikely, or they have simply become more public, which is what I am willing to put my money on. The question then becomes: how do allegations such as these become so commonly known? There are two main answers to this question. The modern civil rights movement, also known as #MeToo, has instilled more confidence in people, generally women, to bring forth sexual misconduct allegations, or, modern media is so accessible, widespread, and easy to use that events such as this can spread and be made mainstream almost instantaneously. While both are arguably true, media’s role in shining a light on issues such as sexual misconduct has continuously proved to be more effective.

Social media in modern times can be seen as mass transit for information. While this is inherently a good thing, it can also have negative outcomes. While social media is useful for the transferring of information, it can also be used for forging and falsifying information in order to sway opinions. Whether or not the allegations are true, they help to expand an already large divide in the American political system. After sexual misconduct allegations against Clarence Thomas, another justice on the Supreme Court, national approval ratings of America’s most trusted institution of government, the Supreme Court, dropped around 10% from an already low 48% (Ball & Berenson, 2018). The media can also be used in more creative ways, combining existing works to get the point across. Introduced to me by Kevin Howley, a parody was made, combining the Kavanaugh court case and the popular movie “Pulp Fiction”. It brings a comedic approach to the debate, while also getting it’s point across. You can view it by clicking this link:  https://youtu.be/kurKyCAhhmQ 

Concerning Kavanaugh, the allegations caused such instability that he and his family had to be kept under guard to protect them from possible threat (Ball & Berenson, 2018). In the end, however, it was found that there ‘"was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims" of sexual misconduct leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (Cummings & Jansen, 2018). An example of the forged information was a letter by a “Jane Doe” (anonymous) accuser who claimed to have been raped by judge Kavanaugh. It was later rumored, and then shortly after claimed that the letter was created in hopes to have Kavanaugh’s nomination denied (Cummings & Jansen, 2018). This is not to say that all the allegations against judge Kavanaugh are falsified. It simply shows that such accessibility to modern technology and media can have a good impact, exposing those who deserve to be exposed in society, but at the same time has the capacity to falsify, forge, and accuse. The impact that media has on us every day, and in this case politically, is large. Investigation is crucial, but we must know in this day in age how to identify the difference between factual claims and those trying to get attention.

REFERENCES
Cummings, W., & Jansen, B. (2018, November 05). 'No evidence to substantiate any of the claims': Takeaways from report on Kavanaugh allegations. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/05/brett-kavanaugh-allegations-report/1889770002/
Farrow, R., & Mayer, J. (2018, September 25). Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from the Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh's College Years. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/senate-democrats-investigate-a-new-allegation-of-sexual-misconduct-from-the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaughs-college-years-deborah-ramirez
Gorrell, M. G. (2011). E-books on EBSCOhost: Combining NetLibrary E-books with the EBSCOhost Platform. Information Standards Quarterly, 23(2), 31. Dog:10.3789/isqv23n2.2011.07
TV, D. D. (2018, September 28). Brett Kavanaugh vs Pulp Fiction. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kurKyCAhhmQ
Word Count: 589
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Comments

  1. KHNovember 9, 2018 at 6:53 AM

    John,

    This is a timely and, for the most part, well presented post. Indeed, you have a clear and distinct writing "voice." I urge you to develop this talent in subsequent course work.

    That said, several issues undermine an otherwise solid effort. First and foremost, check your facts. It is Kavanaugh's accuser, Dr. Baisley Ford, not the judge, who needed security after multiple (and ongoing) threats to her and her family.

    Second, your citations are inconsistent. For instance, you've got in-text citations for Ball & Beresnon, but no mention of this in your references. Conversely, the sole academic source in your list, Gorrell, does not appear in the body of your text.

    These discrepancies (and others) demonstrate a lack of "quality control" on your part and those in your writing group. I can't emphasize enough the importance of proof reading in this and other class writing assignments.

    In sum, this is good. But I want to push you to improve. Proof reading and fact checking are two areas of improvement. Adopting these "good practices" will make your writing all the more engaging and accessible.

    26 pts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 17, 2018 at 1:22 PM

    John,

    As Professor Howley mentioned, some of your facts are incorrect. However, the significance and timeliness of your topic was very well chosen. I think it is a somewhat of a risky topic as well because so many people have their own opinions and you never know what backlash you will get depending on what you write. But, I do think it is important to notice that these cases are nothing new and only now are so widespread because of the media's role in it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 9, 2018 at 2:40 PM

    John,

    I'm glad that you brought up this important discussion in your post. The institution of the supreme plays an integral role in society, and I think it says a lot about where we are as a country when a person with sexual assault allegations against him was able to be elected to such a position. I thought that your discussion of the media coverage of the situation was fair, and you did a great job at seemingly remaining unbiased but still having a detailed discussion regarding the situation.

    ReplyDelete

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