At the moment new music streams from my computer, music achieved through Apple Music – it is called Classical Chill – and goodness knows I need to chill. It is working. It is early Sunday morning but with my early morning rising I have been awake for some time. I have been all over Instagram – getting fantastic news of a great accomplishment from someone dear to me. A Metis woman formed a killer team and will be going to Toronto for familyfeudcanada. I am convinced they will win as they are a formidable crew and it will say so much and do so much for the Metis community in Canada. I wrote on Instagram.
Me: How absolutely FANTASTIC!!! I am so proud of you all! I woke up to this outstanding news! It filled me with joy!
To be honest, I am crying at this moment. They are not tears of sorrow but ones of joy because it is possible to overcome prejudice and hatred and make a strong statement. Indigenous people in Canada have been more persecuted than Blacks in the USA and it is not sufficiently being recognized. Canadians point fingers at the USA and refuse to look inward at the atrocities that have been committed. Oh well, I am back in the USA now and before that in London and in both places I have black friends. While staying at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge I happened upon Ghana Expo, met so many accomplished people and joined them for a brief period being the only white person in a crowded room. I was fine, felt honoured and spoke of it on this blog.
But I have promised to get serious about things in these Excited States and address some issues that are indigenous to these parts. Indigenous is a rather fascinating word which means:
originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native. Used in a phrase, the indigenous peoples of Siberia or coriander is indigenous to southern Europe. Its synonyms are: aboriginal, local; original, earliest, first, initial; ancient, primitive, primeval, primordial; rare autochthonous, autochthonic. ANTONYMS expatriate; migrant; adventitious.
I am about to speak of the Supreme Court of the United States, but it is not exactly a misuse of the word as the Court did occur and originate naturally in this country and is its best feature, as far as I am concerned. Well, I am a lawyer and therefore a bit prejudiced, I do have to admit. I was inspired by an article in The New Yorker and take my information from this. I wrote the bulk of this while in London, saving it until my return here.
A feeling of vast relief flooded over me when I read the extremely well written and researched article offered by The New Yorker. It examined, of all things, the United States Supreme Court. I am a woman, a lawyer, an American, therefore, need some hope. The article, written by another woman, Margaret Talbot was entitled Is the Supreme Court’s Fate in Elena Kagan’s Hands. The subtitle reads: “She’s not a liberal icon like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but, through her powers of persuasion, she’s the key Justice holding back the Court’s rightward shift. Talbot writes: “Yet Kagan, who has long been admired by legal scholars for the brilliance of her opinion writing and the incisiveness of her questioning in oral arguments, is emerging as one of the most influential Justices on the Court—and, without question, the most influential of the liberals. That is partly because of her temperament (she is a bridge builder), partly because of her tactics (she has a more acute political instinct than some of her colleagues), and partly because of her age (she is the youngest of the Court’s four liberals, after Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor).” Talbot goes on: “Vladeck told me, “If there’s one Justice on the progressive side who might have some purchase, especially with Roberts, I have to think it’s her. I think they respect the heck out of each other’s intellectual firepower. She seems to understand institutional concerns the Chief Justice has about the Court that might lead the way to compromises that aren’t available to other conservatives. And the Chief Justice probably views her as less extreme on some issues than some of her colleagues.”
The article goes on to discuss her life and personal traits. In some ways she is like me, in many, it, she is not. Similarities? She never served as a judge in her life before her appointment to The Court. She is single, not had children and lives alone. “Her comic timing is sharp” Is Alexis McBride’s comic timing sharp? I guess so! But of course there are differences. She comes from a family who is civic minded and devoted to education, their New York apartment overflowed with books, newspapers, and magazines. That is rather the antithesis of my family and family home. She is Jewish, I am not having rather strange religious affiliations which are changing.
But this is the one way in which we most resemble one another. She was pictured laughing joyously in the presence of two rivals and one who knew her well said: “One of the reasons she’s gotten as far as she has is her ability to do that, even with people she might disagree with violently. It’s not ingratiating—it’s more like ‘You’re a human being and I’m a human being, and that’s pretty funny. Of course, you’re wrong.’ There’s a certain candor that undercuts suspicion and paranoia.” Tis true.
The article analyzed recent cases, the role the Justice took writing opinions and dissents. It was very illuminating and all are encouraged to read it in its entirety . The last paragraph summarizes the influence she may make, not just by writing a dissent that later becomes law.
“But sometimes a Justice may be more conscious of exerting an influence, in the here and now, on political forces outside the Court. Kagan is an astute picker of battles, with as much respect for the constraints of her position as for its power. “You have to understand what it’s given to you to do,” she told an audience at U.C. Berkeley’s law school, in September. “And also what it’s not given to you to do. And the latter is just as important in terms of doing your job well as the former.” During the summer, when she was asked at Georgetown Law what purpose she thought dissents like the one in the gerrymandering case served, her answer was more galvanizing. “You know,” she said, “for all those people out there who in some way can carry on the efforts against this kind of undermining of democracy, go for it.” She paused. “Because you’re right.”
One has to pick one’s battles and deal with what is given to you but also, importantly, what has not been given to you.
The article made me proud to be a woman, proud to be a lawyer.
But on a lighter side, using Instagram as a source.
Instagram wisdoms continue to proliferate, this by Judicious34. .
He: People inspire you, or they drain you. Pick them wisely.
Me; And some that inspire you end up draining you.
He: It can happen.
Well I just hope it doesn’t happen with The Sultan – the draining part. He does inspire me.
I bet you all were thinking that there was finally a blog that did not mention The Sultan. I fooled you at the very end. How could I not mention him? He is always on my mind. But he does not occupy all of my mind. I am quite convinced that I do not occupy all of his. Hahahahaha
