The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh not only appoints him to the Supreme Court of the United States but also confirms the power of the patriarchy to continue to dictate the everyday lives of Americans.
This confirmation casts aside the calls of many women—survivors of sexual assault—and furthers a society who treats the opinions of these women as second rate. Kavanaugh’s confirmation solidifies not only a continued reign of the patriarchy, but the reign of an elite ruling class.
Nearly 20 percent of the justices on the Supreme Court attended Georgetown Preparatory School. This elite institution boasts a tuition of over $37,000 a year and has been in operation since 1789.
Of the 114 justices to ever serve on the Supreme Court, over 35 percent graduated from an Ivy League law school. This conglomeration of power coming from the elite academic institutions does not allow for a proper representation of American citizenship.
Having those that come from elite institutions in power making decisions for the rest of America is part of the reason why we have such problems with unequal wealth distribution in this country. They serve on the boards of major corporations, make decisions in the highest echelons of government, and operate the banks that have preyed on the common-man. All the while protecting one another from any sort of accountability.
The decisions from these alumni from elite institutions have given us concepts such as “too big to fail”—the idea that the US government should bail out failing financial institutions without holding to account those in charge (only one banker was jailed during the 2008 financial crash).
Take the infamous ruling of the Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Citizens that further solidified corporate personhood and established that money is a form of free speech, therefore allowing a seemingly unregulated amount of money to flow into elections. These elite alumni have also furthered the debt crisis that is burdening the Millennial generation, cut funding for infrastructure projects, attacked the welfare state, and have continually put profits over people with their rulings, legislation, and actions.
Coming this Nov. Americans will have a chance to decide where they want their future to go. Is it one that will help turn the tides of an old, white, male, dominated Congress?
Will Americans do what they do in most midterm election years, and stay at home; too bothered to care about a slow decline of the republic. Will they turn up to push back against a system designed as James Madison put it “to protect the minority opulent from the majority?”
Will they be distracted by work, debt, school and other barriers to democracy that have been systematically placed in the way to dissuade voters. Americans must understand that the only way to prevent a slide back into feudalism is to make small sacrifices such as voting. Register to vote by Oct. 22, and show up on Nov. 6.
