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Elections matter. The person who occupies the office of the President of the United States matters. Our 45th president appointed three justices to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The result of these appointments has shown itself in the last two terms of the Court. SCOTUS never fails to make the end of June a cacophony of confusion and logic and legalistic gymnastics. SCOTUS in a 6-3 decision in the consolidated cases of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard & Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina reversed nearly 50 years of progress in higher education by effectively removing explicit consideration of race in admissions. This conservative supermajority has continued on its warpath of declaring that this country has achieved so-called colorblindness and there's nothing left to do. Justice Jackson said it quite well in her dissenting opinion, "The Court has come to rest on the bottom-line conclusion that racial diversity in higher education is only worth potentially preserving insofar as it might be needed to prepare Black Americans and other underrepresented minorities for success in the bunker, not the boardroom (a particularly awkward place to land, in light of the history the majority opts to ignore)." She is referring to a carve out that allows military institutions to consider race in admissions while preventing colleges from doing the same. For those so inclined, I encourage you to read the various analyses published on www.scotusblog.com. Their takes are insightful and digestible. Then we have another LGBTQ+ rights challenge to a business owner's First Amendment claims. This web designer sued Colorado because, to her, the state's anti-discrimination laws violate her protected speech. She doesn't want to create wedding websites for same-sex marriages and feels that the existing law compels her to do so. The convoluted argument of what is speech/expression vs what is conduct (providing business services) muddies the water and now the Court has said that she can't be forced to what goes against her religious beliefs (I don't have a problem with that). However, no same-sex couple has asked of her services and then been denied. Now, the rabbit hole of the ability to deny service due to a "sincerely held belief" (against a racial class, against gender identity, against interracial marriage, etc.) outweighs the dignity afforded by equal protection and anti-discrimination legislation. Finally, we have SCOTUS blocking the student loan forgiveness plan of the Biden administration. This affects 40 million people in this country. Read Justice Kagan's dissent (joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson). This court has begun to show the ramifications of its composition. Now believe them. For those so inclined, I encourage you to read the various analyses published on SCOTUSblog. Their takes are insightful and digestible. Don't just boo, vote, talk to your community, and/or write your legislators. We are all in this together. I have so much more to say, but this what I could this time putting pen to paper. Be well, Chris
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