If Memory Serves

No doubt you’ve thought about memory if you’ve read/heard/seen this Senate Judiciary Hearing with Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Ford.

Ford’s memory and the accuracy of it are essential to who believes what. And who believes what matters…a lot. A lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court to determine if laws are constitutional is, a la Ron Burgandy, kind of a bid deal.

But there are those who wonder, like this guy, how she can remember certain things but not others. From 35 some years ago.

This whole thing has me thinking about high school parties and to be honest I don’t recall much. But then again there aren’t really any prompts. I’m sure if I perused my yearbook some memories would emerge.

Bu then again, my high school years and parties didn’t involve trauma.

Now of course trauma is a relative term. But there was nothing like what Ford asserts happened to her – trauma.

But when I think about it. I can remember one thing…similar.

You see there was a guy in our neighborhood; was on the high school football team, big guy, muscular, at least compared to me who didn’t break 100 lbs in the 9th grade…and didn’t life a weight till I was in my 30’s. And he wanted to bully me.

I wasn’t going to have it.

Now here’s the thing: I can recall vividly him on top of me, his knees up on my chest as he reigned down fists into my face as I tried to fight him off…to no avail.

I remember it.

What I don’t remember is the stuff on the periphery. I don’t know what year it was (had to have been 1984-88 because I was in High School), I don’t really know what season it was, or the exact time of day or the others who were there (maybe Jeff and Donnie?).

I remember being held down and punched…and punched.

So this idea that memory is all or none, is simply a red herring. A tactic to get you to look away, to avoid something uncomfortable, to take the road more traveled, of least resistance, the short view, that doesn’t require the heavy lifting of…change.

Don’t follow it.

You, we, will be better off.