Retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter gave a speech earlier this week at the Georgetown University Law Center in which he said the American Republic, "can be lost, it is being lost, it is lost, if it is not understood.” In the speech, which was reported on by the National Law Journal, Souter talked about survey results that show nearly two thirds of Americans can’t name all three branches of the US government.
Souter talked about the fact that he learned about our government in grade school; something which many schools no longer teach. He said that we must restore “the self-identity of the American people."
The conference Souter was speaking at was hosted by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor who, according to the Legal Times was visibly moved by Souter’s speech. Unfortunately, Souter would not allow cameras or recording devices to be present at the speech, so we have no way to hear it ourselves.
I have to agree with Souter that out nations educational institutions, starting with primary education, have abandoned their role in teaching children about government. While children who are fortunate enough to be in gifted children’s programs or to attend private school do receive Civics lessons, a large number of children in regular public schools are left out in the cold.
And even children who are taught history are usually told to read their book but get very little in the way of classroom education. It’s no wonder that many kids find history boring. There is little attempt to engage students in the subject.
Ironically, one could argue that Souter’s own interpretation of the Constitution is itself flawed. In a 1999 case involving states rights, the Supreme Court found that the states did have sovereignty. Souter wrote a dissenting opinion in which he said "The state is not the ultimate sovereign.'' He went on to say, "The national government is. The majority could not be more fundamentally mistaken.'' But perhaps Souter himself could not be more mistaken.
The states gain their power and sovereignty from the people. And the Constitution gathers its power from the states. That is why the states had to ratify the Constitution.
It is also clear from reading the writings of Madison and Jefferson that state’s rights were at the forefront of the debates leading up to and through the ratification process. It would have been impossible for that ratification to take place had the states been required to forfeit their sovereignty as a condition of joining the union. Few would have consented to that.
When Souter was appointed to the Supreme Court by President George H. W. Bush, it was expected that he would be a conservative justice. Instead, he has been a disappointment to all conservatives. In one of the saddest votes ever taken at the Supreme Court, Souter voted with the majority of justices to allow governments to use eminent domain to take private property and then turn it over to private developers; a complete abomination of the law and a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
Ironically, Souter’s host – Sandra Day O’Connor – wrote the dissent in the case saying, “Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.”
David Souter will not be missed by any conservatives. It is both sad and ironic that in his last month as a sitting justice he is warning that we must educate the American people in basic government. I believe that in this he is correct.
byJim Malmberg
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