They are unpredictable, they are unmanageable, they are entitled, and yes, they are wacky. We’ve never had a Supreme Court like this one.
Remember when judges, especially Supreme Court justices, thought that justice is blind? Remember when they were non-partisan, or at least pretended to be? Remember when they were respected and revered for their wisdom and their impartiality? Remember when they ruled on the rule of law without regard to high-wealth donors or partisan ideologies?
While the Supreme Court rules on laws already decided by previous Supreme Courts, and disregards the will of the American people, I imagine a song to commemorate the current Court. This Mac-altered song is set to a tune from the 1965 film classic, the Sound of Music – My Favorite Things.
To get it started, this is how the song starts in the movie:
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things…
And, now,
My Favorite Things – Supreme Court version
Wise, reasoned rulings earned our respect,
Non-partisan members, no donor effect,
No influence trips on a jet or a yacht;
These are some things that today’s Court is NOT.
Marshall and Warren, and Marshall and Holmes,
Always flew flags right side up at their homes;
Clarence and Sammy don’t seem quite as wise,
While their wacky wives cause emotions to rise.
O’Conner and Ginsburg did not hedge their bets
With high-donor trips aboard big boats and jets;
And all the past justices seemed to take care
To protect our Republic, to always be fair.
Chorus
When the courts say
Bump stocks O-K,
And that Roe was bad,
We just let a wife put up a new flag
And then the Court feels so glad.
The Court used to be held in such high esteem,
But that sometimes now just seems like a dream.
Immunity granted — the Court’s latest thing
Our past may repeat, will we bow to a king?
We thought we’re all equal under the law
But the Court disagreed, finding a flaw.
So, they granted unlimited power to one,
And accountability now seems to be all undone.
The public’s grown weary at justice so lost,
Wondering why crimes don’t come at a cost.
Decades-old laws are deemed to amend
To placate a guy they’re afraid to offend.
Chorus
When the court cites
Immunity rights
Accountability’s bad;
We recall that no one is above U.S. law,
But that’s in the past – so sad.
Public opinion polls have shown public approval of the Supreme Court at historic lows. Even prior to the Court’s immunity decision last week, an Associated Press-NORC poll found that seven out of 10 Americans believe that Justices make decisions “to fit their own ideologies,” and are not serving as “an independent check on other branches of government by being fair and impartial.”
Do ya think?
In 2018, at Brett Kavanaugh’s judicial confirmation, he said, the Court “must never be viewed as a partisan institution.”
That yacht has sailed, Brett.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI, and publishes opinion columns regularly.
Tweets @curtmacrae — comments to rantsbymac@gmail.com
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