Here’s something I fully expect to see in my lifetime, in an editorial in some newspaper (if newspapers still exist by then):
There has been a lot of impassioned demagogery in recent days over the latest decision of the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals. It seems to me what’s needed here is less emotion and more reasoned analysis. Let’s look at the facts.
The reality is, in the more than two centuries since our Constitution was drafted, great changes have been made in the culture of the United States. The Founding Fathers, for all their reputed brilliance, weren’t a very diverse group. They were without exception products of northern European culture and the Christian religion, whatever their personal beliefs might have been. They shared certain prejudices (referred to in the Declaration of Independence, some years earlier, as “self-evident” truths) that had not been greatly tested in the parochial environment in which they lived their lives.
Since that time, America has been marvelously enriched by the entrance of millions of immigrants, many of whom have come from cultures and traditions very different from that of the West. Some of these minority groups have very different attitudes to matters of governance and justice than those traditional in our country.
If our new neighbors have no trust in democracy, but feel more comfortable with a hereditary monarch, who are we to insist our way is better?
If our new neighbors see no sense in our legal system (and let’s be honest, it’s hard not to sympathize), but prefer, let’s say, trial by ordeal, can we truly be sure our approach is superior?
If our new neighbors want to continue ancient traditions of arranged marriages, or human slavery, is it really appropriate for “native born Americans,” carrying as we do the immense burden of guilt arising from our shameful, imperialistic history, to forbid such time-honored practices?
Certainly not.
And for that reason, Judge ________ ___________ was well justified last week, in declaring the U.S. Constitution unconstitutional.