My religious tradition does not have a counterpart to the Christian concept of ?witness,? but as I understand it, witnessing implies an obligation to stand up for righteousness and truth. To bear witness is to speak out against injustice, to call attention to wrongs, be they civic or moral. It is an effort to bring us back to ?first principles.?
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Assault on Judges
The nation’s founders realized that judges wouldn?t always be right, but they nevertheless insisted that they be independent. In the system they created, majority rule stops where the Bill of Rights begins. If judges weren?t shielded from the political passions of the day, the founders knew the Bill of Rights would quickly become the "Set of Suggestions."
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Scalia and the Culture War
There has been no dearth of reaction, pro and con, to the Supreme Court?s ruling striking down sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas. But while gay rights activists were understandably elated by the ruling, it really wasn?t about gay rights at all. It was a decision about the proper role of the state.
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Patriot Games
There is an old joke that goes something like this: How do you find a needle in a haystack? Why, you burn down the haystack. It?s reminiscent of the infamous Viet Nam explanation that ?We had to burn the village down in order to save it.?
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Ends and Means
If there is one clear distinction between western constitutional systems and the various dictatorships and theocracies around the globe, it is the formers’ emphasis on process. Indeed, we might justifiably characterize our Bill of Rights as a restatement of your mother’s admonition that how you do something is just as important as what you choose to do. ?The ends do not justify the means? is a fundamental American precept.
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