Dear Dr. Christine Blasey Ford,

Here at the Opinion Desk, we have dedicated a significant amount of our content to your story. And in light of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation last week, we would like to make a statement acknowledging and recognizing the sacrifice you have made as a United States citizen, as a professor, as a mother, as a wife and, most importantly, as a woman.

The situation that came to subsume you and your family was, in many ways, unlike anything we have seen before in a political proceeding as public as a Supreme Court confirmation hearing, and we understand that it was not your original intention to become a participant in this national conversation. In making the choice to speak out, you courageously afforded the people of this country the opportunity to be exposed to, and to try and understand, the pain you have endured.

You remained composed and eloquent. You were simultaneously tenacious and vulnerable — you recognized that there is power in vulnerability, and that there is integrity in remaining poised. Quite simply, you displayed grace under fire.

Unlike others in the room on Sept. 27, you refused to scream, shout or plead. You had never asked to be in that position. You didn’t necessarily have anything to prove. You spoke, rather, with a duty to fulfill — and fulfill you did. As the world watched the increasingly disconcerting, clamorous and often nasty atmosphere permeating the discourse that day, we were also given the chance to witness history in the making. With great equanimity, you described your trauma for the sake of your country’s future, and as our nation is further propelled into the uncertainty associated with such immense political discord, we, at the Opinion Desk, would like to extend our gratitude to you for coming forward and for standing strong. No matter where we stand in the seemingly parallel reality of our current political system, you reminded us of those most important values that make us all proud to be Americans — courage, grace and respect.

As the coverage dwindles, and as Justice Kavanaugh stakes his claim to American history, we hope you know that you have been heard and that your offering to our nation has not only been valued, but will be remembered for posterity.

So on behalf of the Opinion Desk — and as Americans — we thank you, Dr. Ford, for your sacrifice. Your valor in daring to speak out will serve as an inspiration and a reminder that in critical junctures of history, we must put the interest of the nation ahead of our own. And while this administration’s imposition of a new Supreme Court justice might serve to alter the tides of these times, please know that we, as observers, journalists and Americans, will not forget.

— Hanna Khosravi, Deputy Opinion Editor

A version of this letter appeared in the Monday, Oct. 15 print edition.

Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

Email Hanna Khosravi at [email protected].