Character Development

“Boy it’s getting bad when you have to con your own horse for a ride.”
 - Bret Maverick 

No one is defined by one moment. Any fiction writer will tell you characters are constructed from dialogue, action, choices, and limned by the reflections of others. That’s why we have these ridiculous Supreme Court confirmation hearings. So we can all piece together a character, without the guidance of a good script. Was that candidate the top of the list or a late entry? Did he fudge, or maybe lie, under oath? Does he have some confusing debt issues? Is he the kind of person who pissed you off so bad in high school you remember 35 years later?

Anyone can be a Supreme Court Judge. Anyone. The Constitution makes it perfectly clear. They don’t even have to be a citizen. Sure, we like Ivy Leaguers. Why, I don’t know. A judge gets a staff of their choosing and they can all be super educated. All we really need is someone who can make a fair and honest decision. We’ve got to have more than one of those milling about the country, right? A Supreme Court nominee does not need to pass for 554 yards in a game, hit a high A above high C or run a marathon in 2:02:57.

He or she does not need to be special, probably shouldn’t be special and certainly shouldn’t be treated that way to begin with.