Today, I am going to take the day off from talking about the economy, the markets and my favorite subject the credit rating agencies, and talk about the soon to be new opening on the Supreme Court. First, let me say that I am not a lawyer, never have been a lawyer, nor taught constitutional law. Almost 50 years ago, I took a course in the political science department on constitutional law and have always found The Court’s decisions interesting.
The pendulum swings back and forth in our Supreme Court’s interpretation of our constitution. Some may say that the court under President Obama is ready to swing back to the left, or a more liberal court. I remember some of the justices on the Supreme Court from the 1960s, and even the 1950s. For me, those were some great years for the Supreme Court. Civil Rights was a big thing then, and back then as today, that grabbed my attention.
You see civil rights is for everyone. Civil rights are not just about protecting the rights of minorities, people of color or people of any other orientation, or, however you wish to slice and dice us up as people. Growing up in the late 40s and 50s, left me with a special interest in the way a government treats all of its people. While the Second World War was behinds us, for me, as a little Jewish boy, living in a country where Jews made up about 2% of the population, the government’s willingness to protect and defend the civil rights of all its people was very important to me. This for me was not something to be taken lightly.
And so, the Supreme Court and its decisions with regards to civil rights captured my attention and I followed their decisions and their reasoning very closely. Without those men that sat on the Supreme Court in the 50s and 60s, I do not believe we would have a President Obama in The White House today.
So, now it is President Obama’s turn to nominate his choice for our Supreme Court. Before becoming President, Barack Obama taught constitutional law, so we know he knows something about the history of the Supreme Court. In my mind, civil rights needs to be protected and defended every day and every generation. I hope President Obama will feel the same way. I hope he will nominate a person who believes in the importance of civil rights for all people, because that is what civil rights is all about.
Stay tuned.
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2 comments:
Unfortunately, Obama, at this juncture, will not be able to affect the 'right' leaning of the Supremes. The Justice rumored to be retiring is a member of the 'lefties', the minority liberal block of 4 judges. The hope is that one of the other 5 guys will depart and take his right wing leanings with him, giving Obama a chance to truly affect the leaning of the Court. We CAN hope. Yes We Can.
Everything you have said is true; however, a powerful liberal intellect could have a very positive effect on the court. The man retiring was thought to be a conservative and turned out to be more liberal than Bush #41 thought he would be. I remember Earl Warren was picked by Eisenhower, and at the time, thought to be a moderate, and yet Ike was very disappointed in his liberal attitude about civil rights. Even one justice can make a difference.
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