Sandra Day O’Connor died today. The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court was 93 and had suffered from dementia for a number of years.
Appointed by President Reagan in 1981, O’Connor spent 24 years as a Supreme Court Justice, retiring in 2006. Her New YorkTimes obituary makes an interesting point: while O’Connor was considered a conservative, the current Supreme Court’s increasing right-wing bias makes many of her opinions and rulings appear (gasp!) downright liberal.
Her is a decidedly mixed judicial legacy.
As the Times notes, at her confirmation hearings, she was questioned about the issue of abortion. She “called the procedure ‘offensive’ and ‘repugnant,’ and said that ‘it is something in which I would not engage.’” Yet she defended Roe V. Wade on several occasions.
“One of her most influential roles,” according to Politico, “was in the 5-4 vote in Bush v. Gore, as she joined justices Anthony Kennedy, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in a decision that led to George W. Bush’s 2000 election win.” The consequences of this hotly-contested election are still being felt – most especially in what is and what is not being done to stave off global warming and ecological collapse. Had Al Gore, a passionate environmentalist, reached the White House it is safe to say the planet’s health would be in far better shape than it is.
She supported affirmative action in college admissions. Reuters tells us: “O'Connor wrote in the ruling that colleges must strive for diversity ‘if the dream of one nation, indivisible, is to be realized.’” Reuters also informs the reader that her initial lack of support for gay rights changed over time. “In 1986 she voted to uphold a Georgia law prohibiting sexual relations between homosexuals but voted in 2003 to strike down a similar law in Texas.”
Comparing her to the most recent – Trump-appointed – Justices makes O’Connor seem like a figure from a distant past: a moderate who took the opinions of others into account, a judge who refused to enshrine her own morality as law.
A groundbreaking figure, indeed.
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10 Books Every (Informed) American Should Read
In 2019, the equivalency of knowledge and power is not just an adage, but a warning. However, an American public that stays defiantly informed can also turn knowledge into hope.
Jan. 22, 2019
Author Isaac Asimov once said, "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been.
The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." In 2019, the equivalency of knowledge and power is not just an adage, but a warning. However, an American public that stays defiantly informed can also turn knowledge into hope.
Here are 10 books every (informed) American should read:
Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
If you don't read the Steinbeck classics, The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, you're doing yourself a disservice. But, if there's only one Steinbeck book you do make time for, make sure it's his autobiographical travel memoir of taking his lumbering RV and charismatic dog across America. He makes due with whatever conversation and company he finds, not driven by any great American ambition other than finding moments of connection in a diverse landscape.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
One of America's most loved authors, Heller's humor and biting observations capture the precarity of individualism in the face of war. The foundations of American cynicism and anti-war sentiment are encapsulated in the eponymous bureaucratic rule of Catch-22: "a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved."
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
As much as the movie adaptations of Frankenstein's monster are icons in America cinema, the philosophical depths of the novel are sadly lost. Individuality and personal responsibility are two major burdens that neither creator nor creation are capable of managing well. There's also something to be said about the element of spectatorship that Shelley frames the novel with, as the story unfolds through a series of letters and switches narration like a mind-bending Black Mirror episode.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Coates manages to capture both the history and enduring tension of race relations in modern America in what Toni Morrison calls "required reading." Written as a letter to his son, Coates' writing is an alchemy of memoir, oral history, and calls to action. He aims to explore how "Americans have built an empire on the idea of 'Rae,' a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men...What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live in it?"
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
This classic fantasy adventure isn't a political science essay or a philosophical treatise, but the payoff is just as strong–if not stronger. Alienation, otherness, nihilism, and, above all, personal resilience take Arthur Dent through the galaxy after his home (along with the rest of earth) is destroyed one casual morning.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
In the same vein, this sci-fi novel is like Machiavelli's The Prince retold as a dystopian space saga. The value of individual innocence in the face of the greater good is challenged. The series explores the moral boundaries of powerful men using innocents as weapons in a war they can't understand.
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Gray's book of essays explores the contradictions inherent in what we understand modern "feminism" to mean. Mixing humor with sharp observation, Gay targets issues as banal as choosing pink as her favorite color as well as timelessly complex matters such as domestic abuse and abortion.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
This one also gets named on every list of "books you need to read" because of its plain and eerie predictions of how dependent society will become on media for its opinions and worldview, as well as entertainment.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
If you can't read the entire canons of solipsism, emotional psychology, and the art of satire, you can absorb the whimsical explorations of The Little Prince. Put simply, a boy prince journeys from planet to planet, each populated by a single adult. His conversations with each one create "a heartfelt exposition of sadness and solitude." Originally written in French, it's universally poetic.
1984 by George Orwell
Knowing the references isn't enough with this classic; again, you have to read it for yourself in order to see dystopian America in your mind's eye. From the cognitive dissonance of war crimes to the contradictions of government propaganda, you need to come to your own conclusions about what an Orwellian future looks like.
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Sandra Day O'Connor alikufa leo. Mwanamke wa kwanza kuwa Jaji wa Mahakama ya Juu alikuwa na umri wa miaka 93 na alikuwa amekuwa akipatwa na ugonjwa wa akili kwa miaka kadhaa. Alipoteuliwa na Rais Reagan mwaka 1981, O'Connor alitumia miaka 24 kama Jaji wa Mahakama Kuu, akistaafu mwaka 2006. Maelezo yake ya kifo ya New York Times yanaonyesha jambo la kuvutia: wakati O'Connor alichukuliwa kuwa mhifadhi, upendeleo wa sasa wa Mahakama Kuu unaongezeka wa mrengo wa kulia hufanya maoni yake mengi na maamuzi yaonekane (gasp!) ni wa kihafidhina kabisa. Yeye ni dhahiri mchanganyiko wa urithi wa mahakama. Kama Times inavyoonyesha, katika mikutano yake ya uthibitisho, aliulizwa juu ya suala la utoaji mimba. Yeye <unk>aliita utaratibu <unk>kushambulia<unk> na <unk>kukatisha tamaa,<unk> na alisema kwamba <unk>ni kitu ambacho singejihusisha nacho.<unk> Hata hivyo aliitetea Roe V. Wade mara kadhaa. "Mmoja wa majukumu yake yenye ushawishi mkubwa, kulingana na Politico, ilikuwa katika kura ya 5-4 katika kesi ya Bush v. Gore, wakati alijiunga na mahakimu Anthony Kennedy, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia na Clarence Thomas katika uamuzi ambao ulisababisha ushindi wa uchaguzi wa George W. Bush mnamo 2000 "" Matokeo ya uchaguzi huu wenye utata bado yanahisiwa, haswa katika kile kinachofanywa na kile kisichofanywa kuzuia ongezeko la joto duniani na kuanguka kwa ikolojia. """ Kama Al Gore, mwanaharakati wa mazingira mwenye shauku, angefika White House ni salama kusema afya ya sayari ingekuwa katika hali bora zaidi kuliko ilivyo. Aliunga mkono hatua ya utetezi katika uandikishaji wa chuo kikuu. "O'Connor aliandika katika uamuzi kwamba vyuo vikuu lazima kujitahidi kwa ajili ya utofauti ""kama ndoto ya taifa moja, indivisible, ni kutimizwa.""" "Mwaka 1986 alipiga kura kuunga mkono sheria ya Georgia inayopiga marufuku mahusiano ya kingono kati ya mashoga, lakini mwaka 2003 alipiga kura kufuta sheria kama hiyo huko Texas. ""Kumlinganisha na mahakimu wa hivi karibuni walioteuliwa na Trump, O'Connor anaonekana kama mtu kutoka zamani za mbali: mpole ambaye alichukua maoni ya wengine kwa kuzingatia, hakimu ambaye alikataa kuimarisha maadili yake mwenyewe kama sheria." Kwa kweli, ni mtu mwenye kutokeza. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika kitabu cha ""10 Books Every Informed American Should Read"" cha mwaka 2019, ""Ulinganifu wa maarifa na nguvu si kauli mbiu tu, bali ni onyo.""" Hata hivyo, umma wa Marekani ambao unabaki ukiwa na habari kwa ujasiri unaweza pia kugeuza maarifa kuwa matumaini. "Mwandishi Isaac Asimov aliandika hivi: ""Kuna ibada ya ujinga nchini Marekani, na imekuwapo sikuzote." "Mtazamo wa ""upinzani wa akili"" umekuwa ni nyuzi ya kudumu inayozunguka maisha yetu ya kisiasa na kitamaduni, ikizaliwa na wazo bandia kwamba demokrasia inamaanisha kwamba ujinga wangu ni sawa na maarifa yako." "Katika mwaka wa 2019, usawa wa maarifa na nguvu si kauli mbiu tu, bali ni onyo.""" Hata hivyo, umma wa Marekani ambao unabaki ukiwa na habari kwa ujasiri unaweza pia kugeuza maarifa kuwa matumaini. "Kama unajua, ""Msafiri na Charley: Katika Kutafuta Amerika"" ni kitabu cha John Steinbeck ambacho kinaitwa ""The Grapes of Wrath"" na ""Of Mice and Men.""" "Kama kuna kitabu kimoja tu cha Steinbeck unachokipata, hakikisha ni kumbukumbu yake ya safari ya kuelezea maisha yake ya safari ya ""kuchukua RV yake ya kukandamiza na mbwa wa charismatic kote Amerika.""" Yeye hufanya kwa sababu ya mazungumzo yoyote na kampuni anayoipata, si kuendeshwa na tamaa yoyote kubwa ya Marekani isipokuwa kupata wakati wa uhusiano katika mandhari mbalimbali. "Kichapo cha ""Catch-22"" cha Joseph Heller, kinaonyesha jinsi watu wanavyojipanga kwa ajili ya vita." "Msingi wa upinzani wa vita na upinzani wa Marekani unajumuishwa katika sheria ya ""Catch-22"" ya serikali: ""Mtu huonwa kuwa mgonjwa wa akili ikiwa anaendelea kuruka kwa hiari katika misheni hatari ya mapigano, lakini ikiwa anaomba rasmi kuondolewa kazi, ni kuthibitishwa kuwa mwenye akili na kwa hivyo hawezi kuondolewa.""" Frankenstein, na Mary Shelley, ni filamu ya kuigiza ya Frankenstein, na kwa sababu ya kuigiza kwa filamu, ni maarufu sana katika Amerika, na kwa sababu ya kuigiza kwa filamu, ni maarufu sana katika Amerika. Utu na wajibu wa kibinafsi ni mizigo miwili mikubwa ambayo wala muumba wala uumbaji hawawezi kusimamia vizuri. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, Shelley anaelezea hadithi yake kama ""mwisho wa hadithi"" na anaelezea hadithi yake kama ""mwisho wa hadithi"" katika sehemu ya Black Mirror." "Katika ""Miongoni mwa Ulimwengu na Mimi"" na Ta-Nehisi Coates, Coates anafanikiwa kukamata historia na mvutano wa kudumu wa mahusiano ya rangi katika Amerika ya kisasa katika kile Toni Morrison anaita ""kusoma lazima.""" Imeandikwa kama barua kwa mwanawe, maandishi ya Coates ni alchemy ya kumbukumbu, historia ya mdomo, na wito wa vitendo. "Ameandika kuwa ""Wamarekani wamejenga milki juu ya wazo la 'Rae,' uwongo ambao unatuumiza sisi sote lakini unashuka zaidi kwenye miili ya wanawake na wanaume weusi... ni nini kuishi katika mwili mweusi na kupata njia ya kuishi ndani yake?""" The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - Ni hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi. Alienation, otherness, nihilism, na, juu ya yote, resilience binafsi kuchukua Arthur Dent kupitia galaxy baada ya nyumbani kwake (pamoja na mapumziko ya dunia) ni kuharibiwa asubuhi moja casual. Ender's Game ya Orson Scott Card ni hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi ya hadithi. Thamani ya kutokuwa na hatia ya mtu binafsi mbele ya wema mkubwa inashutumiwa. Mfululizo huo unachunguza mipaka ya maadili ya wanaume wenye nguvu kutumia watu wasio na hatia kama silaha katika vita ambavyo hawawezi kuelewa. Bad Feminists ni kitabu cha Roxanne Gay Gray ambacho kinachunguza tofauti za msingi za 'feminism' ya kisasa. Kwa kuchanganya ucheshi na uchunguzi mkali, Gay anajishughulisha na masuala ya kawaida kama kuchagua rangi ya waridi kama rangi yake ya kupendwa na vile vile masuala magumu ya milele kama vile unyanyasaji wa nyumbani na utoaji mimba. Fahrenheit 451 na Ray Bradbury ni kitabu cha kwanza cha vitabu vya kuvutia na vya kuvutia, ambacho kinaonyesha jinsi jamii itakavyotegemea vyombo vya habari kwa maoni na maoni yake ya ulimwengu. "Mfalme Mdogo, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, ""Mfalme Mdogo"" ni kitabu cha kuigiza cha kihistoria ambacho kinajumuisha hadithi za kuigiza, hadithi za kuigiza, na hadithi za kuigiza." Kwa ufupi, mwana-mfalme husafiri kutoka sayari moja hadi nyingine, kila moja ikiwa na mtu mzima mmoja. Mazungumzo yake na kila mmoja wao hutokeza "maonyesho ya moyo mweupe ya huzuni na upweke". Ilikuwa imeandikwa kwa Kifaransa, na ni ya kishairi ulimwenguni pote. "Kumbuka kwamba ""1984"" ya George Orwell ni kitabu cha kihistoria ambacho ni muhimu sana kwa watu wengi, lakini pia ni kitabu cha kihistoria ambacho kinaweza kuonekana kama ""Dystopian America"" kwa macho ya akili yako." "Kutoka kwa kutoelewana kwa utambuzi wa uhalifu wa vita hadi kwa utata wa propaganda ya serikali, unahitaji kuja na hitimisho lako mwenyewe juu ya jinsi wakati ujao wa Orwell unavyoonekana. """ "Mwanzoni mwa mwaka huu, ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha makala ya ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" na ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""Mashabiki"" walichapisha ""M