Ignorance Is Bliss

As we sit and ponder whether four conservative justices and the fossilized remains of Clarence Thomas will overturn the entire relationship between the state and federal government since at least 1937, it is worth asking oneself: Is it worth it?

I mean, is it worth knowing this?

I remember when they repealed Glass-Steagall.  I turned to my class and said, "This will causes a major economic catastrophe."  I was right.  Does being right make me happy now?

I remember when the Court pulled Bush v. Gore out of its ass.  I turned to my class and said, "The Bush administration begins under a cloud of contested legitimacy.  One way to foster legitimacy is to start a war.  I will guarantee that we are at war before the midterms."  I was more or less right, though I don't subscribe to the theory that Bush let 9/11 happen to get a war.  Fact is, it allowed him to get the war he wanted in Iraq.  But does being right make me happy now?

I remember when the Court pull Citizen's United out of its ass.  I turned to my class and said, "Democracy is now for sale.  Campaign will be meaner and stupider than ever before."  I was right.  As exhibit A, I give you the "candidacy" of Newt Gingrich.  Does being right make me happy now?

And so, if some time later this spring, I turn to my class and say, "The Supreme Court has just ended any ability of the national government to address national problems."  Or "The Supreme Court has just sentenced thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people to premature deaths by annulling the first bill that guarantees that people won't die because they can't see a Doctor."  I will probably be right.

But it won't make me happy.

Normally, I'd be excited for the distraction of professional athletics, but being as I am a Braves and Falcons fan, that just as depressing as trying to figure out what the hell Anthony Kennedy is going to do to the Constitution.