Not unexpected that Democrats announced yesterday another demand for the one-week extension in the Kavanaugh confirmation investigation to be extended further to allow inclusion of “further” allegations against the nominee. I am certain Democrats did NOT want it revealed that Professor Ford’s activist attorney Debra Katz (at least an associate of hers) began sending out group/mass emails on Friday stating (paraphrased) “We need for anyone who can shed knowledge on the true meaning of the words used by Kavanaugh in his high school yearbook to step forward immediately. Further, we need all those who will step forward with any and all sexual abuse allegations against Kavanaugh to contact us immediately.”
It’s no shock they are willing to circumvent the confirmation process of Brett Kavanaugh at any cost. Their efforts have nothing to do with his qualifications to serve. Their efforts have nothing to do with the Constitutional process in place for Supreme Court Justice confirmations with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. In fact, these efforts are aimed directly at destroying this legal and historical process for liberal-left political purposes only. (We will not discuss today their political purposes because they are many in number and very well known to all)
The Price
Judge Kavanaugh’s 
family is paying dearly for this debacle in numerous ways. (See the atrocious cartoon here) One can only imagine the horrors all three — his wife and both daughters — face daily when interacting with their peers. That doesn’t even account for the numerous death threats they continue to receive that have resulted in 24/7 security for them.
What about Judge Kavanaugh himself? Until a week ago, an unblemished judicial career replete with glowing recommendations from hundreds of fellow employees, classmates, professional colleagues and professors linked with his stellar record on the bench was all that was necessary for his confirmation. I seriously doubt there are any in the United States that are unaware of this logjam in his SCOTUS confirmation. I doubt any of those have NOT developed their own assessment after the internationally televised “She Said/He Said” hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
There’s something important for us all to realize: YOUR opinion, MY opinion, the opinions of ALL the Senators who serve on that committee don’t matter at the end of this. Judge Brett Kavanaugh will either be confirmed to the Supreme Court or he will not be. But none of this other stuff matters in that context. Each person’s life who is looking in on this circus will go on. Each person’s opinion will probably never be factually proven, just as happened in the 1991 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas amid similar claims made by Anita Hill. What really matters is how Brett Kavanaugh processes all this moving forward with his life.
Remember: he is serving as a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C. — a lifetime appointed position — that he will re-assume if his nomination is denied or withdrawn: or will he?
The “Kavanaugh” Opinion
Our opinions or those of even those who are slated to vote on his confirmation — U.S. Senators — are not the important opinions in this matter. Nor or those of Christine Ford, who called herself a doctor until yesterday. She is NOT nor ever has been a licensed psychologist in California as she claims. Now she’s just “Professor Ford.” The only opinion that matters is that of Brett Kavanaugh.
I’ll explain.
The Coat of Many Colors
Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob, and Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son of his 12 boys. Jacob gave Joseph a very elaborate and expensive “coat of many colors,” and his brothers hated him for it. They hated Joseph so much, they plotted to get rid of him. Their plan (which they implemented) was to sell him into slavery. Joseph found himself as a slave working in Egypt. There he was wrongly accused by the wife of his master for sexually attacking her. For that — without proof — Joseph was thrown into prison where he was held for 13 years though completely innocent.
His release came from a miraculous event regarding a dream of Pharoah. None of Pharoah’s palace seers could interpret it. A baker who had been imprisoned with Joseph but was released to work in the palace remembered that Joseph had interpreted a dream of his when they were imprisoned together. He related that story, and Pharoah had Joseph released and summoned to the Palace. When Pharoah told Joseph his dream, Joseph immediately told him what it meant.
To shorten this story, Pharoah made Joseph his “Second in Command” in all of Egypt, and Joseph ruled over the business process of import-export of Egypt’s crops and other goods.
Israel was experiencing severe famine at that time. Joseph’s brothers were sent by their father to Pharoah to seek assistance in the way of food for him, his family, and others. Of course, they ended up before Joseph, who was in charge of that process for Egypt.
His brothers had for all those years assumed Jacob was dead. When they came before him, none recognized their brother, but he immediately knew them. Joseph responded to them immediately:
“How dare you not recognize who I am! You sold me into slavery, let me go innocently to prison for 13 years, and never thought to even search for me. How dare you come here to beg for Egypt’s assistance!”
Of course, that’s not what he said. Joseph immediately confronted his brothers, identified who he was, hugged all (who were shocked and afraid), and the first thing he asked was, “Is our father alive?”
The rest is history: Joseph provided massive amounts of food to the Israeli people to get them through their famine. He reunited with his family and brought them all to live in Egypt.
So?
Hmmm..
You probably are asking “How does the story of Joseph apply to Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation?” There certainly are commonalities between the two. But they may not be what you first think.
Joseph was certainly wronged by his brothers. It was NOT his fault that his father loved him dearly — far more than his 11 brothers — and obviously treated Joseph different from them. I cannot imagine how horrible it must have been for him to find himself one day sitting at the dinner table with his family and the next in chains going to a slave sale in Egypt to be sold. Many Americans have grandparents that related stories of these same things.
The bombshell in this story is the answer to these questions: What did Joseph do when he found himself a slave and then a prisoner in jail for 13 years? Did he quit, did he complain, or lash out to others about how unwarranted his treatment was? Did he threaten others?
No. He quietly waited. He did what he was supposed to do when he found himself in those circumstances. He made himself ready for all the things he faced daily while in slavery, serving his master after being sold and sitting in jail as a sentence for a crime he did not commit.
There’s a BIG lesson in this for all of us. Let’s take a look:
Summary
No doubt Joseph had every right to hold several grudges: against each of his 11 brothers for at first hating him the way they did, then for selling him into slavery, and then for never caring about what happened to him; a grudge against his slave master’s wife for wrongly accusing him of attacking her; against those who held him in prison for more than a decade when he was totally innocent of the charges.
But Joseph bore no grudges. And that saved his life, that of his brothers and his father, and an unknown number of his fellow countrymen whom he was able to feed during a multi-year widespread famine.
How could Joseph do all these positive things after the very ones he helped sold him into slavery and ended up in prison for 13 years?
Obviously, you are trying to figure out where this story is going and how it applies to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. But it doesn’t apply to Kavanaugh’s confirmation: It applies to Brett Kavanaugh as a man, a husband, a father, a judge, a friend, a coach, a professor, and as a mentor before, during and AFTER his confirmation or his NOT being confirmed. How Brett Kavanaugh comes out of this — even if it ends horribly and his reputation is permanently destroyed and he loses his current lifetime appointment to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in addition to his Supreme Court confirmation — is all that really matters.
Joseph figured it out:
- People wrong each other all the time;
- Life is seldom “fair;”
- Bad things often happen to good people for no fault of their own;
- Nobody owes us anything.
It’s in that scenario that Bret Kavanaugh finds himself today. He MUST move forward with his life. We all must move forward with OUR lives. No matter who takes advantage of us, who uses us, who hurts us, who lies to or about us, or whatever bad circumstances come our way that seriously alter our “perfect lives,” we must find ways to deal with it all. But most importantly, we MUST deal with the people responsible for the bad stuff that comes our way of no doing of our own. The key? Forgiveness.
Forgiveness in itself is healing. Mental health professionals make clear how important forgiveness of those who wrong us is. Not only does it clear our minds and hearts of anger that feeds unforgiveness, but forgiveness also releases us to love again, enter into healthy relationships again, and be available for new opportunities in our own lives that come our way going forward. Often, unforgiveness blinds us and prevents us from even recognizing good things we simply ignore, mistrust, or just walk by because we cannot see those.
No human will ever be truly successful without relationships with others. Our DNA comes from others and is comprised of all the things that are part of establishing and developing healthy relationships with others. Our lives are all pretty much part of others lives and vice versa.
Because of that and because of the human nature we all share, people often hurt other people. Being hurt is inevitable. Unfortunately, forgiveness should inevitably be meted out by all. But sadly, many hold it tight, refusing to give it away.
How does this relate to the Kavanaugh situation? That’s simple: Judge Kavanaugh has much to get over — much to forgive others for. He and his family members must be drowning in anger and unforgiveness for the thousands of wrongs being perpetrated on them. Even though Judge Kavanaugh and his family members each know deep in their hearts that much of what they are seeing, hearing, and reading is not based on facts but on emotions. Knowing and accepting that are two different things.
Sadly, I believe their lives are forever changed by this. I just hope the four of them and the Judge’s parents can each find a way to work through it and get on the other side of unforgiveness. Forgiveness is the key for them all. Forgiveness will allow them to trash the pent-up anger and hatred they may be experiencing.
But there’s one other big reason forgiveness is necessary: they do not yet know what amazing good things are ahead for them that they might miss if they harbor uncontrolled unforgiveness.
Forgiveness IS for the present. But forgiveness is for the future, too. If Joseph had not found a way to forgive his brothers, his slave master’s wife, or his jailers, he probably would have never been in a mental place to help anyone else as he did with that first dream interpretation. He then would have missed the meeting with Pharoah, not interpreted Pharoah’s dream, and not been appointed V.P. of Egypt. He then would NOT have been able to restore his relationships with his brothers and father AND feed millions of his people for several years through a famine.
You know what else would have NOT happened if Joseph had not forgiven? Today’s twelve tribes of historical Jewish people who comprise all of Israel would have never existed! Each of his brothers and Joseph were the original founders of each tribe. Israel as the world knows it would not exist.
Is all this just a story? If it is, it’s a really good one! One thing is certain: Joseph understood and implemented in his own life a trait we all should seek for ourselves and those we love: Forgiveness.
Forgiveness has so many benefits that each begin with relationship restoration. Why not give it a try?
I bet the Kavanaughs will.
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