One of the most unique characteristics of the United States criminal justice system is the presumption of innocence, meaning that any person accused of a crime in a court of law is presumed to be innocent unless factual evidence proves him or her guilty. As a result, every accusation ought to be judged objectively in a bipartisan fashion. However, more times than not the judicial system fails to objectively interpret a case without their predisposed judgments getting in the way. Nowadays it is nearly impossible for anything to be without bias, especially when it applies to politics.
Our political bias dictates nearly everything that we do, including the friendships we make, the ideas we support, the shows we choose to watch, and so much more. My suggestion is not to eliminate these political biases since there is no legitimate way to eradicate all forms of bias. However, my only issue is when political bias disrupts basic morality, namely sexual assault. You do not need to be a politician to know that sexual assault, ranging from harassment to rape, is repulsive. I think most people agree with the previous statement until an actual allegation arises and those of different political parties split drastically with their personal opinions.
When Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was brought up on allegations of alleged rape from over 30 years ago by a university professor named Christine Ford, Republicans and Democrats went ballistic. Democrats immediately pounced onto Ford and her testimony, claiming that Kavanaugh was unfit to serve on the Supreme Court as "a sexual predator". And Republicans were quick to defend Kavanaugh, asserting that Ford was lying, paid by Democrats to come out with the allegation, or outright delusional.
While seeing multiple posts from both sides of the political spectrum the past couple of weeks, all I can say is that both sides are not only being disrespectful to the situation but are also contributing to the political bias that has corrupted our "innocent until proven guiilty" and "fair trial" of a judicial system.
The underlying tone of the Democratic defence of Christine Ford is driven by their unyielding efforts to do whatever it takes to block Brett Kavanaugh's path to the Supreme Court. Would Democrats care about Christine Ford's story if Brett Kavanaugh was not the alleged perpetrator, or would they care as much if Christine Ford accused a powerful force of the Democratic party itself...like Bill Clinton?
The Republican's protection of Brett Kavanaugh is driven by their utmost political loyalties to those who share the same political ideologies. Every Republican or conservative that I have witnessed defend Kavanaugh on social media or in a conversation has no greater argument other than "It's the Democrats who are just trying to take him down", "The allegation is from so long ago", or "This woman just wants attention". Republicans are too concerned with their political loyalties instead of reserving judgment until there is evidence. Unfortunately, many will not admit when another Republican is clearly "in the wrong" just because they support their policies. For example, after Donald Trump's infamous "Grab them by the...." comment was released, many Republicans refused to admit that that comment was disgusting and disrespectful to women.
I wish both parties would think rationally instead of always thinking politically. Sexual assault is first and foremost a human issue, not a political one, yet personal and political beliefs keep driving our nation further and further apart. We need more rational, moderate politicians, judges, lawyers, etc.
We need political parties that will admit when one of their members has acted wrongly. The problem with the recent Kavanaugh allegation is that there is no basis from which the FBI can initiate any sort of investigation. It is likely that we will never truly know if Brett Kavanaugh did the things that Christine Ford claims he did. What does this mean for us, strongly political Americans? It means that we should balance our political predispositions, objective understanding of our legal system, and empathy for any victim of sexual assault.
Just because the FBI may never be able to conduct an investigation into Christine Ford's claims does not mean she is necessarily lying. Pointing at women who speak their stories of surviving any form of sexual assault as liars, attention seekers, and other derogatory names are the reasons why they have stayed silent for so long. It is not anyone's business to criticize when a victim chooses to share their stories of sexual assault. Instead, we, as a society, need to achieve a balance between being objective and compassionate to those victims. Any victim who speaks out should be comforted, not called a liar.
On the other hand, the accused should be investigated and given a fair trial before being called a sexual predator. This is not because of the handful of cases where the allegations were completely false, but the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" has to work both ways in order for us to progress.
