The political play

Seeing through the make-up

By Dick Tunison

When I was in Japan many years ago I took the occasion to visit the ancient city of Kyoto. It was a beautiful place, rich in culture and history. A friend advised that I take the time to see one of the famous Noh performances that were both remarkable and indicative of the nation’s past. But, he warned, it would be an all day event. So I should be prepared to take a nice, soft cushion.

Noh is a classical Japanese performance that combines dance, music and poetry presented as artistic stage art. Typically, the performers are all men; however, there are women depicted but these roles are also played by men. All the players wear heavy make-up that conceals their real identity. Some appear gruesomely fierce and threatening while others look pleasant and protective.

The performance I attended was as long as advertised. When it finally ended I felt like I needed an extra week of R & R. But it was worth it. Otherwise, how would I have been prepared for what I endured week before last while watching the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Capital Hill? They were the American answer to a Noh performance. The only thing different was that men played men and women played women.

Those of you who have daily employment and were not able to see the real thing were blessed. The recap versions of the hearings shown on late night television were bad enough.

The senate hearings were a true spectacle. There were striking similarities to the Japanese play. The main character in a Noh performance is called the shite (no, that’s pronounced sh’tay). Like some of the senators, the shite usually appears early in the performance and seems like an ordinary good-guy, But then he disappears through a secret door and returns later displaying his true character. If you had watched the senators in action you would have noticed the same thing – their coming and going through hidden doors, and then, finally returning to center stage where they revealed themselves as they really are – fire breathing inquisitors.

As observers of this American Noh play we learned little new about Judge Sam Alito. His bio had been thoroughly revealed in the press and by the talking heads on TV. But we learned a lot about how low some of our political leaders could stoop to imply prejudice, philosophical leanings that were beyond the pale and affiliations with subversive groups that some senators claimed wanted to return Princeton, Alito’s old school, to the Stone Age. Alito was guilty of all charges in the minds of a few senators, and all the white make-up in the world could not cover their deceitfulness.

I was bowled over last Sunday morning to read one of the Washington Post editorials that advised: Confirm Samuel Alito. Although the Post criticized the nominee on several counts, it did seize on an important point that should not be overlooked by those of us in the audience. The Post editorialist wrote, “. . . Judge Alito should be confirmed, both because of his positive qualities as an appellate court judge (for fifteen years, I add) and because of the dangerous precedent his rejection would set.”

The Post goes on to say Judge Alito is “superbly qualified.” Well, for heaven’s sake, if not, what should we be looking for, someone bereft of all qualifications? Some members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are more interested in interfering with the president’s promise to nominate judicial constructionists than they are in filling the seats on the Supreme Court bench with the smartest people available. They would quickly sacrifice a quality candidate for one who conforms to their ideological model.

Judge Alito seems to be an impeccably honest man. Although he refused to answer questions about legal issues that might come before the Supreme Court – and that is proper – he didn’t adopt a role and hide behind a mask. Even as his interrogators tried in vain to cause him to assume a different character, he maintained his focus without failure. He did no dance, nor did he try to escape from the scene. He was in the end what he was in the beginning. In the final analysis, Judge Alito left the play acting to the American Noh performers – the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Supreme Court confirmations are a part of our history just as the Japanese play is a reliving of their past. But in our case, we need to ask if the plot should be rewritten before our play is performed again. Perhaps it’s a part of our history we can improve upon, because it reminds us of little in which we can find pride.