Clarence Thomas --
"Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved. Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them."
George Takei --
"He (Thomas) is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court."
Being ignorant of conservative thinking, (as are most leftists), Takei missed Thomas' point. Conservatives believe that all people are born - some would say conceived - with the unalienable rights delineated in the Declaration of Independence. Dignity and humanity are conferred by God or nature at birth, and these qualities cannot be bestowed nor diminished by any individual, group or government. Slaveowners could not dehumanize slaves. FDR could not dehumanize Japanese-Americans. Much as he may try, Takei cannot dehumanize Thomas.
Ignorance is one thing, racism is another. Takei's slur exemplifies the racist (and sexist) hypocrisy of the left. African-Americans, (or women or gays) who abandon the ideological plantation are deemed inauthentic and for them no denigration is considered too reprehensible. This is the mindset which concludes that Mitch McConnell is a racist for saying Barack Obama plays too much golf, yet tolerates Takei's comments, bloggers calling Condoleeza Rice and Mia Love house n----rs and Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin a c--t, (among many, many other instances).
In a separate issue, an interesting debate has developed over a constitutional amendment proposed by Ted Cruz. In light of the politicization of the Supreme Court and its usurpation of constitutionally unassigned powers, Cruz suggests holding retention elections for each justice every eight years. If the judges want to give up adjudication for politics, Cruz rationalizes, they should be treated as politicians. Andrew McCarthy supports Cruz, George Will does not. McCarthy and Cruz are right. Will is not. And it doesn't matter that there is no chance that Cruz' amendment will ever be enacted. Defending the principle of an independent judiciary is worth the effort.
It's surprising that someone of Will's intelligence and generally good judgment gets this one wrong. Or perhaps not. Will added a disclaimer to his article --
"Disclosure: This columnist’s wife, Mari Will, works for Scott Walker."
McCarthy
Cruz
Will
McCarthy again
The McCarthy articles showcase the former federal prosecutor at his best.
Added July 7 --
Rich Lowry, writing far more expansively and eloquently than I did, weighs in on the Takei-Thomas issue.
One wonders if anyone disturbed by the Thomas dissent glanced at the Declaration of Independence over the July 4th weekend. It says, as Thomas notes, all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” In case there’s any misunderstanding, the good folks at Merriam-Webster define unalienable as “impossible to take away or give up.”
This is a truth that abolitionists wielded against the institution of slavery. The foremost of them, Frederick Douglass, held it strongly. He declared once after suffering a rank act of discrimination: “They cannot degrade Frederick Douglass. The soul that is within me no man can degrade. I am not the one that is being degraded on account of this treatment, but those who are inflicting it upon me.” (Quick — someone ask George Takei if Frederick Douglass was truly black.)
This is a truth that abolitionists wielded against the institution of slavery. The foremost of them, Frederick Douglass, held it strongly. He declared once after suffering a rank act of discrimination: “They cannot degrade Frederick Douglass. The soul that is within me no man can degrade. I am not the one that is being degraded on account of this treatment, but those who are inflicting it upon me.” (Quick — someone ask George Takei if Frederick Douglass was truly black.)
There's much more. Read it all.
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