Why We Ought to Care

It's not sexy reading, but I took a part of my Sunday to delve into The Conyers Report (2006). I found the book (subtitled George W. Bush versus The U.S. Constitution)to be eye-opening in many ways. It not only presented the research into the problematic nature of the current Administration; the text started me thinking about a most dire and pertinent issue that we cannot ignore: The Supreme Court.

I know thinking about The Supreme Court is not high on a lot of people's lists, but you have to think about this fact: there are two Justices that are nearing eighty years old and about to retire. President George W. Bush, a known conservative, is in office. He has already replaced two past positions with Chief Justice John Roberts (replacing William Renquist) and Samuel Alito (replacing Sandra Day O'Connor) who reflect the views of the current White House. Furthermore, both new officials in the highest court in the land will slant the ideological leanings toward the Right.

Some might not have a problem with that. However, others might be troubled with the future of rulings that might affect our nation's way of governing our civil liberties. This is especially the case when it comes to civil rights and abortion. In theory, the Supreme Court is to be non-partisan in its approach to rule on cases that might have lasting effects legally and socially on American citizens. However, if the current President of the United States is willing to fill the bench with partisan representatives, there might not be a fair hearing on such cases; let alone the fact that draconian measures might be entertained and accepted without hearing the other side of the matter.

There's one thing when it comes to discussing issues with others not only offline in our circle of family and friends or on-line on different forums. There's another thing when the vital issues of the day (such as stem cell research and the separation of church and state) are ruled upon without any argument coming from another point of view. Unfortunately, what you get is a court that is reflective of tyrranical decision making instead of a fair balanced body that would adequately serve as one of the "checks and balances" that our Founding Fathers had created in the first place.

And if we do have Justices that are put there to serve conservative causes, let alone the bidding of the current Administration, what exactly does justice represent? This is especially pertinent when it comes to questioning torture methods in Guantanamo Bay or whether the practice of wiretapping and datamining of everyday Americans is legal. With a slanted court, how will we be able to judge whether our Constitutional rights will be treated fairly when certain measures are brought up on the Supreme Court docket?

Problematic questions, I'm sure, but very notable to think about.

We saw the future of the highest court of the land, when it had ruled in the favor of George W. Bush after the 2000 Presidential elections. In that ruling, one could surmise that it was partisan politics without the proper hearing of the issues that had outlined the election: the disenfranchisement of voters in Florida; the problematic issues with electronic voting machines; the popular vote vs. the electoral vote. One could question whether the ruling was fair at all. Or was it an attempt to just quash the dissent that fomented out of the outrageousness in Florida?

It's not water under the bridge when one thinks about the civil liberties of the citizens in Broward county who didn't get to voice their votes fairly. It almost seemed, at the time, that not only the Voters Rights Act of 1965 was ignored, but the 15th Amendment was thrown by the wasteside as well.

Before we get jaded and think that the stacking of the court is business as usual, it is highly relevant and compelling that we take a moment to stop and think about the future of the nation in terms of the Constitution and what it stands for. Do we just go about our daily lives and let these rulings happen? Or will we write our Congresspeople when one Justice retires and inquire of them to be very vigilant when it comes to a fair hearing of our rights?

This is not an issue that will go off into the dead of night. We must care who is part of the Supreme Court because these rulings, in their small way, affect everything thing we not only stand for, but how we live. And for some of us, their rulings affect how much access we will get within American society opposed to others.

So, take the time and consider these things whenever there is news about the Supreme Court. Yes, it's not like American Idol, but nevertheless it is much more substantial than you think.