The Texas vistas stretch to familiar horizons as my car makes its way from an engagement in San Antonio towards home in Austin. The sights outside the window are so familiar that they give the afternoon a hue of comfort and permanence – two feelings that are far too often elusive in these dispiriting and tumultuous times.
Thursday I was speaking to a gathering of the National Association of Women’s Judges, which seemed an auspicious audience considering the thunderclaps coming out of Washington, where schisms over gender, the rule of law, and judicial temperament have produced yet another tear in our beleaguered American fabric.
By all accounts, it seems that Judge Kavanaugh is headed to the Supreme Court. Many in the country cheer this as a rightful vindication. Many others feel a deep sting of defeat that they expect will plunge this nation into an era of further injustice. My own sense is that history will judge what has happened here very harshly, in keeping with how it will generally view an era of avarice, dysfunction, and prejudice. But any future vindication is small comfort to all those who are suffering and feel so marginalized in the here and now.
I have preached a philosophy of “steady”, on this page, in my personal and media appearances, and in my recent book. Many of you have countered that with each successive blow the rock of steadiness feels increasingly slippery as we struggle for sure footing in the face of such outrage. I hear you and do not wish to come across as a Pollyanna. I do not minimize the challenges. But I also know that the future of this nation is not beyond your power.
Core American values are under attack, but that does not mean that there is nothing that individual citizens can do. For starters, what happens in this looming election, not only at the national level but in states and locally, will go a long way to determining the future of the nation as a whole. Beyond that, there is so much hurt and need that any act of empathy and assistance you can provide to your fellow citizens can start to make a difference.
In this fight for the future of this nation, I believe the victors will be the ones who refuse to give up. There are powerful interests on both sides. There is money on both sides. There are millions of voters on both sides. But where lies justice? Where is hope? Where are our higher ideals?
I want to be clear that when I say sides, I do not see merely partisan battle lines. We can and should have disagreements on policy. Such is the function of democracy. But we shouldn’t have disagreements on decency and truth. Over the course of my life, I have seen the fever of the moment break and our national direction reset. This will happen again. I am sure of it. And who will be there energized and ready to lead us into a better future?