classics digests, reflections and reviews
On June 30, 2023, the last day of the court’s term, the Supreme Court of the United Status issued its ruling in the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. The ruling was the same as I had predicted six months ago. The opinions are a little disappointing, however. Both the majority and dissent seem to have difficulties reconciling rights to free speech and rights to equal access. The majority […]
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Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963 When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words […]
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Four years after Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, there is another case (again originated in Colorado) pending before the Supreme Court of the United States, which seems to pit First Amendment rights against rights of people with protected traits, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. Like Masterpiece Cakeshop, the petitioner, a web designer, argues that her First Amendment right is violated when she is required by law to […]
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Opinion of the Court 1. The Constitution of the United States does not protect a right to (obtain) abortion, neither explicitly nor implicitly. 2. There are other rights not mentioned in the Constitution, but the Court has judged them to be protected by the Constitution, such as the right to obtain contraceptives and right to same-sex marriage. 3. Abortion is fundamentally different from those rights. It concerns not only a […]
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Preface To paraphrase Plato, the price we pay for indifference to reason is to be ruled by unreasonable people. On a personal level, I seek to understand the laws that affect or govern my life. If I cannot understand the laws, but am forced to abide by them, I’m no different from a slave; On a societal level, true democracy depends on reason. A democratic society is healthy only so […]
Read moreSome men think the earth is round, others think it flat. It is a matter capable of question. But if it is flat, will the King’s command make it round? And if it is round, will the King’s command flatten it? No, I will not sign. –Thomas More “A Man for All Seasons” When reading published opinions on the Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case, I’m baffled […]
Read moreWhose Conscience is It? Most people who object to the SCOTUS ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, including some of the Justices, argue either that the baker used his freedom of conscience as a cloak for bigotry, or that he conscience was misguided and irrational. Justice Neil Gorsuch responded to these arguments in his concurring opinion joined by Justice Samuel Alito[1]. As a side note, this is my first encounter […]
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