Judicial Activism
I'm a little conflicted on this subject. On one hand, a judges job is to determine if an action is against the law, or in the case of the Supreme Court, if a law is unconstitutional or not. This is supposed to be set on precedent. But what if the precedent is wrong? Take civil rights. From the beginning you were only afforded the full protection of the laws if you were a white male landowner. Other than that you were maybe a citizen, maybe a sharecropper and maybe a slave (the two sometimes being very similar). Throughout our country's history, one group of people have run the show. The government is supposed to be checks and balances. However, it is far from it, when, especially like we have now, the three branches all have the same interests at heart. We cannot expect fair and impartial rulings from a group of white, old men about laws set down by rich, white old men and signed by a rich, white president.There are other people than just rich, white men within the judicial system, but they don't always truly represent their respective people. Janice R. Brown, Clarence Thomas, Alberto Gonzales, for example; these people don't at all stand by the principles and driving beliefs of their backgrounds. They're sellouts, plain and simple. They sold out for power. Not only that, but they undercut the little pieces of progress that have been made by their peoples. When an African-American female judege is anti civil rights, and anti women's rights, there's something wrong with that. They make the people that are fighting for further rights seem outlandish and extreme. When it is these (not all of the minorities in power positions are like this, please don't misunderstand me) people who are extremely backwards.
Our system needs some serious reworking, people. I'm up for it. I think the ideas are out there for judical reform, among other things, those ideas just need to be spread among the general public. It doesn't matter what you believe in, we should have a unifying thread of justice for all. People need to have a check within the government that protects them. The judges need to uphold a set of fair laws, not bicker and dither over an outdated and flawed set of rules written by men who had their own interests at heart, and not the common man's. Our system has merit, in theory. But it needs work. Serious work.
posted by WunEyedDog @ 11:56 PM
9 Comments:
i'll agree that sell-out might be a bit extreme, but independant thinking sounds so grandiose and honorable, especially when applied to washington and lincoln. there have been many independant thinkers, who went against the mainstream of their society, much to its detriment. idi amin for example. i certainly am not putting the supreme court justices on par with him, i'm only saying that independant thinking swings both ways.
jay,
i am i am. as far as chuck shumer goes, i don't know anything about him as a person, but quite often (as some of my posts illustrate)it proves to unfortunately be the case, as many kids do join because they have no other options. it is certainly not always true though, it just is common at least in the enlisted force. we are not under privileged or backward, but we ARE poor...but thats the military's fault anyway.
Thank you for the compliment, there are more intelligent people in the military than is perceived by and large. I've run into some preudices, yes, but I have met some very intelligent people, not all of whom are southern, christian, dumb and poor. There's quite a few that fit that bill as well.
As far as my examples, they are "independent thinkers." I just think that they're independent of their backgrounds and their heritages. I don't believe that all African Americans are criminals, or that all Latinos are illegal immigrants. I applaud those that have made a difference and become prominent, despite the oppositions. However, too many of them turn their back on their people in order to further their own ambitions.
Ouch. True, Condi does donate money, and so does Thomas. But they're still supporting a system that is increasing the gap between the haves and the have nots. They are both in a position of influence and could use that to try to reign in the increasing disparities within our societies.
The minimum wage is far below the poverty level, more welfare goes to corporations than to the poor and the educational situation at predominately minority schools is apalling. The maximum Pell Grant has just been lowered, in a time when higher education costs are soaring. These are just a few examples of how the government is turning its back on the poor. It's one thing to give money to a few small charities, or to black colleges, I certainly applaud them for that. But they should be the ones arguing for a greater social change to help their people advace, not me.
I don't necessarily agree with your assessment of welfare being the problem with their continued failures. I think their continued failure is due to the latent racism still prevalent throughout our society that prevents them from being able to change their situation. Welfare is not the ultimate answer, but I believe it's necessary. I believe that changing the education system-both secondary and higher and raising the minimum wage would do a lot more than welfare would.
Of course, more welfare goes to the south than anywhere else in the country, and as much to poor whites as poor African Americans, Latinos or others.
I do agree with your assessment of welfare being taken for granted and not helping very much. Which is why we should stop giving taxpayer dollars hand over fist to corporations that can't sustain themselves. Bankruptcy bailouts at the expense of the workers, taking away from pensions, and huge grants to companies whose CEOs are making more today than every before is a much bigger problem than welfare for the poor.
i went to the grocery store last night..we usually go to the commissary, so i haven't seen the inside of many southern grocery stores. the shelves are littered with "WIC APPROVED" tags. i've never seen anything like that in the north. just a little example of the poor south.
...and just me trying to sidetrack the discussion...ha
It's very true. I'd never even heard of WIC before moving to the south.
women infants and children. the provide nutritional counseling and food vouchers to the poor folk. just about everyone i've met in the military is on wic. we are not 1) because they have a finite budget, and if i don't need it i'm not taking it from someone who does. and 2) they won't give it to you unless your child is fully vaccinated. so no wic for me.
Post a Comment
<< Home