I grew up in a house with two lawyers who were constantly debating the interpretation of laws over dinner and reading statutes together over breakfast. I spent a lot of time in the back of a courtroom watching one of my parents argue a case when I was too sick for daycare.
These experiences sparked my intense curiosity and passion for disputes over laws and politics. I’ve spent the last four years reading anything and everything political, forming my own opinions on topics and arguing for those opinions in just about every setting possible.
But as the dust settles on Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination battle, I’ve found myself absolutely exhausted and at a loss for words when it comes to political disputes.
This isn’t normal for me, considering I’m a political science major who has an obsession with constitutional law, and was downright ecstatic for the upcoming midterms a few months ago.
As a constitutional “originalist” — someone who interprets the Constitution as it was originally intended to be interpreted — I was ecstatic when I heard Judge Kavanaugh was being nominated to America’s highest court.
I quickly turned to the internet to find out more about Justice Kavanaugh, and I liked just about everything I found. I was more than happy to read profiles about the picture-perfect family man being nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As fast as that excitement came to me, it also left. I was soon caught between my partisan ties and my strong belief that women who come forward with sexual assault allegations should be believed in principle at face value.
I was told by many friends I couldn’t be both a conservative and a supporter of women.
Elizabeth Marshall | Argonaut
I was told that not only was the party I most closely identify with complicit in the high number of sexual assaults in our country, but I was as well.
I watched as political cartoons depicted my party and my identity as a monstrous, ill-willed machine. And then, I unplugged from social media.
I took a break from politics to the best of my ability. I decided it was not my place to be involved, to speak or to have an opinion at all.
Looking back on it, this was the absolute worst decision I could have made.
As I ease my way back into politics and the news cycle, I have realized that I never should have attempted to stop caring.
I also had to realize this passion coupled with an empathetic heart can be a burden, because it should be. We all should be burdened by politics, because these issues and disputes affect our lives directly.
In order to create a better political atmosphere in our country, we’re going to need people who are passionate about things, whether it be individual freedoms, the environment or criminal justice issues.
If you care enough, your limits will be pushed. There will be times when you will question your principles, identity and partisan affiliation. That’s OK.
What is not OK is giving up your passions and curiosity because it is difficult to deal with sometimes.
Passionate people hold the world on their shoulders a lot of the time, but since they carry it, they get to decide which direction to move it toward. I hope everyone holds this sentiment close going into the midterms.
Elizabeth Marshall can be reached at [email protected]