JUDICIAL BIAS DEFEATING JUSTICE

The question begged ??? Isn’t most of what passes as truth in our lives (and our reality and our beliefs)… just the “subjective” interpretation of what well-intentioned people think they saw, think they heard, think they know or think they believe ??? See What is Truth and Where Do You Find It

For those who say, “no it isn’t,” I ask… how do you explain the dynamic of honest, well-intentioned, everyday witnesses “sworn” to be true… telling diametrically, opposed versions of truth and reality that are in contradictory opposition to one another (sometimes by 180 degrees) and both passing a lie detector test ??? The short explanation is… some times, well intention, honest people tell us what they think they saw, what they think they heard, what they think they know or what they think they believe… when the reality is that all of us interpret truth, reality, life and a belief system through the eye glasses of our own, preexisting bias. Biases that not only inhabit both our minds and our subconscious, but also inhibit our interpretations of what really happened in the past or what’s really going on in the present.

Example. A White, retired Cop and an older, Black man (who belongs to the NAACP) will see the very same, street arrest through the “lenses” of their own, particular, preexisting biases (many times not even consciously aware of their pre-existing biases). The retired White Cop witness will see a young Black man resisting arrest while the older Black man from the NAACP will see excessive force by the White cop. Why ??? Because both of their interpretations are captured by and limited by their own biases that accumulated over a lifetime. So much so that both witnesses will pass a lie detector test (polygraph) with flying colors… especially if their biases lie hidden in the recesses of their subconscious mind.

Therefore, I ask ???

Aren’t the right wing, Christian forces of “control the masses”… really at work in Amy Coney Barrett (and other, right wing Catholic judges)…
Also at work in us left-wing, laissez faire, Christians (but in the opposite direction) are the generic guidelines of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness and the “Do unto Others” Golden Rule.
And, isn’t the “recognition” of those biases on both sides of the aisle through “intellectual honesty” and “disclosure” about the best we humans can demand of one another ???

The bottom line. Not everyone is bought and paid for like Supreme Court Justice, Clarence “The Mooch” Thomas, and not everyone is as blatantly biased for Trump as Trump appointee, Federal District Court Judge, Eileen Cannon. Maybe those who elect, appoint or seek out judges are really just looking for the biases that match up with their own biases.

Therefore, let us acknowledge the above. And let all the Judges be thoroughly questioned about possible preexisting biases (like we ask of Jurors during Jury selection). The right-wing, Republican’s biases direct them to favor Judges with an expressed right wing “control the masses” (and reduce human liberties and human rights)… while the liberals like me want left-wing, Democrat Judges with (as the Founders expressed 250 years ago) an expressed preference for freedom, human rights and the self determination to pursue their own, American Dream, their own Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness (plus the necessary, social programs that continue the work of… the Man in Sandals, Solanus Casey, Clement Kern, Mother Theresa and others who will help the poor, the handicapped and elderly) in the same fashion the right helps the rich ??? Think $750 Billion in TARP funds to bail out Wall Street in 2008.

We all have our preexisting biases… some good, some not. We must demand of our Judges… the right (the God-given right) to inquire of and tell the Judges when their search for “truth and Justice” is based upon unwarranted bias and not law. It may not win the day, but let’s be honest with one another and tell the world who we really are.

That’s an empowering thought. Is it not ???

Fred Lauck