“I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.” This is what democracy looks like. A woman who is brave enough to tell her story. The future will be determined by story tellers. There are people in this world whose stories have been told, time and time again. There are the people whose stories have been listened to time and time again. Then, there are women like Christine Blasey Ford, whose story has been silenced for far too long.  She is your neighbor, your sister, the girl that sits next to you on the bus. She is your mother, your spouse, your daughter. She is you. She is a woman who was abused, and humiliated. And she is resilient. On September 27th, Brett Kavanaugh saw, perhaps for the first time in his life, what consequences look like. We are in a new chapter of American history. Victims need voices, and abusers need consequences. One strong woman can change the face of the country.  

Senator Lindsay Graham referred to the treatment of Judge Kavanagh as the “most despicable thing” he’s seen in all his years in politics. He said the “charade” was propagated by liberals. The “political sham” he is referring to is a woman speaking up and telling her story. We live in a society that is so unfamiliar women being given a powerful platform to speak up, that it is considered a marketing ploy when they are. During the hearing, Dr. Ford was calm, while Kavanaugh expressed his anger by shouting and berating. Maybe he had the right to be outraged, but that is a privilege that he has. To be emotional, angry, loud, and not be discredited because of it. What is passion from a man, is a meltdown from a woman (think Serena Williams). In the face of the prejudice, Dr. Ford stood tall, and recounted her story. She told of the horrific details that she had held in shame for so many years. And in doing so, maybe knowingly, maybe without a clue, she made every woman a little stronger.  

This is how progress is made. It seems disheartening at times. It seems that, money, power, and structural injustices are what make the decisions in this country. At times like this, the only option is to change the structure. The power of people is stronger than the people in power. This is understandably scary to a man like Lindsay Graham, who has benefited greatly from the system of inequity that has, for so long, taken the voices of marginalized victims. Democracy is someone standing up, against the system, against the structure, to do what is right. Democracy is the young women seeing their stories told. Democracy is the women who are standing behind them.  

Regardless of the outcome, this was an historic day. It was a day of strength, bravery, and solidarity. Christine Blasey Ford is the hero that America needs right now; a woman willing to risk everything to tell her story. There are consequences when we don’t believe women. History will reward the brave.  I believe Christine Blasely Ford, and the future will too.