The contemporary political arena is disheartening. The rise of vulgarity, vitriol, and violence on the part of the Left has lowered America into a pit of disgrace.

An uncivil place.

And the shamelessness of the party that once championed liberty has now enacted tyranny. It has attempted a stranglehold on thought, by way of barbaric acts of dishonesty, from the nation’s Capitol to the once-trusted few who deliver our news. The Left have declared war, and in the paradigm of this battle, to fight dirty is to fight at all. Truth has become an irritant; principle has become passé. They want power, by any means necessary.

The crucifixion of Brett Kavanaugh seems a poignant new low. A sign of the times.

But is it?

The witchhunting ways of the new millennium was percolating at the end of the 20th century, paraded before the world in a scenario similar to this latest display of the vile attacking the undeserving.

For you and me, it’s impossible to imagine occupying the shoes of Brett Kavanaugh. But for one man, it isn’t so great a task at all.

In 1991, at the end of a repulsive dragging through the mud of a man, his family, and his nation, that patriot spoke out. And this is what he, Clarence Thomas — in the seat presently filled by Judge Kavanaugh — had to say. His words are eerily applicable, almost thirty years later…only we have gotten, not better but — rather — worse.

First, Thomas declared his innocence:

“I would like to start by saying — unequivocally, uncategorically — that I deny each and every allegation against me today, that suggests in any way that I had conversations of a sexual nature — or about pornographic material — with Anita Hill. That I ever attempted to date her, that I ever had any personal sexual interest in her, or that I in any way ever harassed her.”

Next, he took aim at the paradigm which has arrested this process yet again — this manner by which our country is supposed to appoint a citizen to aid in the triumph of — ironically — justice:

“A second and, I think, more important point: I think that this today is a travesty. I think that it is disgusting. I think that this hearing should never occur in America. This is a case in which this sleaze…this dirt…was searched for by staffers of members of this committee, was then leaked to the media…and this committee and this body validated it and displayed it at prime time over our entire nation.”

Justice Thomas asked those on the guilty side of persecution for thoughtful empathy:

“How would any member of this committee — any person in this room, or any person in this country — [like] sleaze said about him or her in this fashion? Or this dirt dredged up, and this gossip and these lies, displayed in this manner? How would any person like it?”

Brett Kavanaugh has been perilously centered in a hurricane of unfounded slander. From social media to television to those who were elected to know better and do better, he — like Clarence Thomas — has been presumed guilty from the first moment of manufactured accusation. Who would deem worthy any position of such sacrifice? As I asked recently, what deterrent will Kavanaugh’s plight be to future conservatives who want to make a difference, yet do not wish to risk the decimation of their loved ones or themselves? In fact, that precedent was set years before now, by Thomas. And he made it clear: the job isn’t worth the abominable abuse:

“The Supreme Court is not worth it. No job is worth it. I’m not here for that. I’m here for my name, my family, my life, and my integrity.”

Saddest of all is to hear Thomas’s warning. His call for a waking of America. A renewing of minds. A purification of hearts. And a remembrance of what America is supposed to be. All he called upon failed to manifest. His words describe now as much as then. Politics has become an uglier place. A less open space. And those who oppose conservatism have made it so:

“I think something is dreadfully wrong with this country when any person — any person — in this free country would be subjected to this. This is not a closed room. There was an FBI investigation. This is not an opportunity to talk about difficult matters privately or in a closed environment. This is a circus. It’s a national disgrace.”

The side of the aisle which claims to champion minorities instead demands adherence to their dogma. Any man or woman — of any color — who does not follow, they will burn to the ground. Like a cross in a yard. Difference is not allowed; individualism is unacceptable. Be supportive, be subjugated, be silent, or be gone.

“And from my standpoint as a black American, as far as I’m concerned, [this is] a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks — who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas. And it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you: you will be lynched. Destroyed, caricatured, by a committee of the US Senate. “Rather than hung from a tree.”

Let us remember these words. As we watch the spectacle of a failure of leadership. A betrayal of the American way. By those who claim to promote it. Against those who crusade to preserve it.

Today, as the story unfolds before us, and we feel for the man at its center, let us remember Clarence Thomas. A man who has been there. A man who made it through. Let us cherish his example, and hope for another like him. One as strong. One as right. And one who will preserve the highest ideals of a nation, from the highest court in the greatest possible America.

Thank you so much for reading. Please share your thoughts on all of the above, in the Comments section below.

For those of you who missed the relevant RedState link in the article, please find it here.

For something totally different, I’d be honored if you’d check out my pieces on America’s need for revival, a hero in Hollywood, and Buzz Aldrin’s love of country.

Find all my RedState work here.

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