This week the US Supreme Court, by a majority of 6 to 3, destroyed the fundamental requirement of a living democracy, that no one is above the law. You can find the full judgment here.
It begins with a useful, albeit distressing summary.This decision is the result of a corrupted approach to appointing to the highest court in the land lawyers who are appointed not for their intellectual rigour, objectivity and moral strength, but for the expectation that they will, as the opportunity arises, promote the political agendas of those who appoint them.
Throughout its history, this court at the pinnacle of a world power has had its highs and lows. Suffice to say that on the great questions of recent years, such as:
the rights of women to choose what is to happen with their bodies, the rights to be free from discrimination based upon sexuality, the rights of everyone – including alleged terrorists – to have equal access to the rights afforded under the legal system, the right to be able to take one’s children to a school or a cinema or a church and be assured that they will not be murdered by an insane person equipped with a weapon that no civilian needs, and now the chance to re-affirm that all are equal under the law,this court has failed.
It may bear the name “Supreme” but it is something much, much less. Even the aspiration to “equality” – a myth to every disadvantaged American – is now dead.
On the Statue of Liberty the torch is a symbol of enlightenment, lighting the way to freedom and showing the path to liberty. The torch has gone out, ironically in the same week as the French (who gave the Statue to the US) lurched towards bluster and fear-driven politics.
This article discusses the paucity of the rationale adopted by the majority and also discusses the views of the three dissenters.
https://citynews.com.au/2024/how-the-us-supreme-court-killed-democracy/.
