The Thomas nomination was controversial from the moment his name was offered. As a Black Justice, he would be expected to step into the shoes of the highly esteemed Thurgood Marshall, a pillar of the civil rights movement. But Thomas was extremely conservative and would likely push the court to the right. Most notably, he was opposed to affirmative action and was noncommittal about his stance on abortion, setting the stage for a strong backlash from liberals. In October, a bombshell dropped.
Anita Hill, a former special assistant to Thomas, came forward to testify that he had made sexually provocative statements to her as her boss. He allegedly had graphically described scenes from pornographic movies and bragged about his own sexual prowess. For his part, Thomas offered a vigorous denial and claimed to be the victim of a “high tech lynching.” The televised hearings offered spellbinding drama as additional witnesses testified on both sides.
I was mesmerized. I could not stop watching the hearings, which went on for several days. I took those days off from work and stayed at home glued to the television. I was offended by the questioners. I was agitated by the witnesses. I was tortured by the testimony. By the time Thomas was confirmed on October 15, I was a basket case.
I have always been fascinated by the duel between fact and falsehood, between truth and lies. In the 1991 Clarence Thomas hearings for his Supreme Court nomination, one person was telling the truth and the other was lying. We can only guess at what really happened because there were no witnesses to the exchanges. In our current political world, it seems that the truth has become more elusive than ever. Like fragile tissue, every time we nearly have it in our grasp, it seems to disintegrate at our very touch, crumbles to pieces in our outstretched hands. I can’t help but feel that fragility of truth is the greatest threat to our democracy. If we don’t know what to believe, how can we agree on the facts? If we cannot agree on the facts, how can we make collective decisions about anything?