Despite its scandalous behavior and amidst the growing number of scandals and ethics problems, the not so Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) continues to roll out rulings telling the rest of us how to live based on the law-of-the-land. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court appears to be oblivious to the increasing lack of trust that Americans have in it and the rulings that it renders.
Chief Justice Roberts and most of the members of the court apparently believe that the law-of-the-land rules apply to everyone except them. They currently police themselves and whenever they are asked to apply the same rules to themselves that apply to all other judges in America, the only answer that they can muster is “we’re special.”
No, the SCOTUS justices do not use the words “we’re special” but when all the rhetoric and spin is removed from their response to this question, the only and real answer to it is, “we’re special.” And when the conservative members of the House and Senate are asked to assist congress in bringing the SCOTUS justices into line with rules that apply to the rest of the judges in the American justice system since they will not do it themselves, they balk at doing so. And whenever they are asked why they will not help to reign in SCOTUS justices and apply these rules to them, when all the rhetoric and spin is removed from their response, the only and real answer to it is “they are special… and so are we.”
SCOTUS Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are currently associated with scandals that involve taking gifts from billionaires, not reporting them, and still voting on rulings that come before the court involving these same billionaires. Further, while they are neither as blatant nor receive as much public attention as do the scandals and ethics problems involving justices Thomas and Alito, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch also have problems related to ethics and proper SCOTUS decorum. Unfortunately, this may only be the tip of the iceberg.
While SCOTUS justices are accepting expensive gifts from their billionaire friends, they are hearing cases that involve them and ruling in their favor. While these favorable rulings might not be against the law, they certainly have the appearance of showing favoritism and are not good for a court that is at its lowest approval rating in its history. And even if they are not dishonoring themselves and the court through these actions, this scandalous behavior is appalling!
In the meantime, those previously mentioned congresspersons who are refusing to intervene to bring the SCOTUS justices back to their senses and into line with the rules that apply to all other American judges, are putting their collective knee on the necks of regular hardworking Americans and those who have sought or are seeking to better themselves via a better education. Is it that these folks are not “too big to fail that allows their attackers to be so ruthless in their attacks?!
Many of these congresspersons who are beating down these regular hardworking Americans and those who have sought or are seeking to better themselves via a better education, have recently benefited from the same kind of relief that they are refusing to allow President Biden to offer to their fellow Americans. Do you remember the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)?
Even the SCOTUS’S, and maybe even some of these congressperson’s, billionaire friends have likely benefited from this government program. These things notwithstanding, congress firmly believes that student debt-forgiveness is strictly a no-no and cannot be tolerated. That is why they are fighting to prevent it and support the SCOTUS student debt-forgiveness ruling.
With all the rulings decreasing the rights of Americans rendered by the SCOTUS since the election and then the defeat of The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, it is no wonder that Democrats believe that the SCOTUS has been hijacked by Republicans and is doing the will of conservatives by implementing their agenda. When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Justice Clarence Thomas warned that the court should (would?) revisit other long-standing decisions that it had made. Affirmative Action was among those decisions that Justice Thomas referenced.
The court’s recent decision overturning the use of Affirmative Action in colleges and universities in admitting students, although not unexpected, was an ominous and devastating one that actualized Justice Thomas’ warning. The question now is, if the SCOTUS is serious about eliminating the consideration of Affirmation Action in admitting students to colleges and universities then why not also forbid legacy consideration in admitting them? After all, legacy too is Affirmative Action.
It is likely that the great majority of these conservatives who disagree with the premise of Affirmative Action also do not agree with reparation, having people of color attend the same schools that they or their children attend, having people of color live in the same neighborhood that they or their children live in, having people of color earn as much money as they earn for performing the same job, etc. If my assumption is correct, then why is it that these same people who do not agree with Affirmative Action and those other things mentioned immediately above are adamant about preventing Black people from establishing our own strong economic centers.
Instead of allowing them to do this and instead of 1. leaving Black people alone and allowing them to establish their own strong economic centers they opt to either sabotage or destroy them. A perfect example of the behavior by people who think this way is what happened to “Black Wall Street” in Tulsa in May 1921. They bombed this area into oblivion and took many Black lives while doing so. 2. Taking land away from Black people that they rightfully own. A good example in this case is the prime Southern California beachfront property that was taken away from a Black family who owned it in 1924 and not returned to them until 2022.
Of course, the two examples above are miniscule in comparison to the number of times that Black people were either swindled out of land that they owned or not given the opportunity to acquire free land offered to Americans by our government like their White counterparts. These are simple facts and no matter how hard anyone might try to change or erase history; the facts remain.
They cannot forever hide how Black people arrived in America. They cannot forever hide how Black people and other people of color were, and still are treated in America. They cannot forever hide how the American government has worked to make it harder for Black people and other people of color to vote or prevent them from voting. Although they cloak their efforts to do these things in a shroud of death by a thousand cuts rather than one fell swoop; even our not so supreme SCOTUS can change that.
Today’s Trump-led Republican Party is demonstrating on a regular basis that they want to “make America great again” by taking America back to the times of the infamous Dred Scott decision when the SCOTUS decided that Black people “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” I have a message for the Trump base and all the Trump sycophants and Trump worshipers who believe him when he says that the government has been weaponized to come after him because he is protecting you and is the only obstacle standing between you and it.
That message is that there is only one person that is truly important to Donald J. Trump and that person is Donald J. Trump. You are important to him as long as you are completely loyal to him, including above self, and useful in helping him to achieve his goals. Other than that, after he is finished “making America great again” by taking Black people back to the days of the infamous Dred Scott decision, if you are not or do not remain a part of his inner circle by remaining completely loyal to him, he will come after you. That’s Trump’s America for you. Are you sure that is what you want?
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line