The recent U.S. Senate hearing which preceded the confirmation of Judge Clarence Thomas as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, left the nation reeling.
In one of the most vicious inquisitions witnessed by Americans, much of the brotherhood which was previously spread from sea to shining sea was drowned in the muddy waters of indiscriminate character assassination.
As a result of a leak, by one dishonest member of the Senate Committee, of eleventh hour charges of sexual harassment, a man who had been previously seen as articulate, gentle and blameless was subjected to the most detailed scrutiny and innuendo. His family suffered the agony reserved for those seeing a loved on in pain and his country suffered the shame of seeing the system fail abysmally.
Sexual harassment, an offense which society righteously, though correctly, condemns, had little or nothing to do with the Kangaroo Court trial of Clarence Thomas. Neither did racism. The issue for those who brought about this shameful mockery of justice and democracy was Roe v. Wade. Clarence Thomas was perceived by many to be pro-life.
Giddy with the success of their efforts to prevent the confirmation of Judge Bork, the abortion entrepreneurs plotted the destruction of Clarence Thomas.
Unable to trap him during the initial hearings, it became necessary to produce something more novel, more appealing and more certain to turn the tide of public approval. Enter Professor Hill, “the meek, reluctant victim of ‘sexual harassment.’”
What followed was not only daytime pornography, but the thrashing of due process under law which gave vent to attempts to stifle witnesses for the defence, and efforts to destroy the moral character of others through the illegal introduction of unsworn testimony. Much of this testimony provided a platform for ridiculously baseless, though vindictive allegations and a public display of sadism previously unseen by the present generation.
In their arrogance, however, those who made this farce possible, underestimated the ability of both the accused and his witnesses to fight back’; they underestimated the skill of the Senators who kept their integrity; and they sold ordinary, decent Americans short.
In the end, his detractors lost and judge Thomas was confirmed to the highest judiciary in the nation. However, the price for him, his family and the nation was high.
How do these stunning events affect us in Canada? They serve as a sober reminder that the issue is not simply a money-making killing center on Harbord Street, Toronto; it is not just the rising death toll in accredited hospitals’ it is not the attempts to write abortion into law by demanding that elected representatives vote the party line – it is a war between life and death, between good and evil – and that war is world-wide.
