How do you say to your child in the night
Nothing is all black but then nothing is all white?
How do you say it will all be alright
When you know that it mightn’t be true?
What do you do?Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see
And learn
Children may not obey
But children will listen
Children will look to you
For which way to turn
To learn what to be
Careful before you say
“Listen to me”
Children will listenCareful the wish you make
Wishes are children
Careful the path they take
Wishes come true
Not free
Careful the spell you cast
Not just on children
Sometimes the spell may last
Past what you can see
And turn against youCareful the tale you tell
That is the spell
Children will listen
Much will be written about this week’s confirmation hearings for SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and her treatment by certain Senators.
The NAACP released a statement tonight accurately recounting:
Unfortunately, the world also saw the unacceptable and outrageous manner in which some members of the Senate Judiciary Committee treated Judge Jackson during her testimony. Several senators ignored our entreaty to accord her appropriate courtesy and behaved in a most reprehensible and disrespectful manner. They were rude and hostile, asked inane, irrelevant, and inappropriate questions interrupted and cut off Judge Jackson when she attempted to answer, alternatively speaking to her as if she were a child, a criminal suspect, or a sworn enemy. While this blatant display of disrespect and racism toward a highly-qualified Black woman was, unfortunately, not surprising, it was nonetheless shocking and disheartening.
It’s unrealistic to think that what happens during a U.S. Senate hearing is a one-and-done type of thing.
On top of all of the horrible, that was directed towards Judge Jackson, I am bothered that the misbehavior of a few conveys the general message that it is okay to misbehave that way in courtrooms throughout the country.
Towards other judicial officers.
It’s not.
It never is.
But if it seems to be okay with how U.S. Senators treat a nominee to the highest court of our land, can we fault those who think otherwise?
Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see
And learn
We need to keep working to do better. The work is important.
And we need to be grateful for when folks like Senator Cory Booker step up and reclaim the work’s joy. Better yet, this is who we should be listening to.