My father, Antonin Scalia: Washington Post opinion
In this Oct. 20, 2015 file photo, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaks at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. (The Associated Press)
Dad loved opera and classical music. He'd play conductor with the radio as intensely as a teenager playing air guitar. He enjoyed the Great American Songbook, too, plus country and bluegrass, and in recent years he and my mother came to know the musician Ricky Skaggs. And there was the steel pan band at my wedding reception. Amazed by the instrument's sounds, Dad peppered the drummers with a million questions. It didn't hurt that they played some Sinatra.
Steel Sensation with Antonin Scalia
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President Obama breaking down a verse from Amazing GRACE at the funeral service for state Senator Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was one of nine victims in the June 17, 2015, shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
So only LIBERAL DEMOCRATS are allowed to like PAN?
Music is a universal language and LOVE is the key...
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with lyrics written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725--1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.
Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed into the Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion. His career in slave trading lasted a few years more until he quit going to sea altogether and began studying theology.
Rest In Peace Justice Scalia.
The Queen of Gospel breaking down Amazing Grace.
In the 1990's I heard a white preacher give the above story of Amazing Grace and I was left wondering why so many black people like to sing this song so lustily. I often think their passion might be due to how our ancestors, though enslaved and brutalized, were made to feel they are to be blamed for their suffering. Blaming the victim syndrome! The feeling we are not good enough still lingers in the 21st century.
They sing it lustily , because followers of the Christ understand the concept of "Amazing Grace" , Ayesha. It's the message , not necessarily the messenger.
What about the statement that Newton created the words to a melody he heard on the slave ships?. It was a song of lament (and of hope for the best) that the enslaved people in the hold of his ship used to keep them spiritually alive and well during the horrific experience of the middle passage.
The poignant, moving melody lived with him, haunted him, and when he became a Christian, he put the powerful words to it.
Some Christians say it is proof of how God can use even the work of the devil (the slave trade) to still spread his message of hope.
But this explains why black people have so easily 'owned' this particular song.
Anthony Scalia was a brilliant jurist and a very intelligent man. His reasoning in challenging the many lawyer that came before the court, was so skillfully presented that one could wonder whether he was so vehement. He was trying to convince himself because deep down he may be harboring some thoughts on the opposite side.
One could ask the question about the resolve and what has fashioned it in that manner.
I raise the question because one’s objective can be telegraphed based on what they say in defending their position on a particular subject.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pivotal affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas on Wednesday December12th 2015. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia raised the suggestion that African American students might belong at less rigorous schools than their white peers, and that perhaps the University of Texas should have fewer black students in its ranks.
The University of Texas-Austin is being challenged over its use of race in admissions decisions for about 25 percent of its freshman class. About 75 percent of the students at UT-Austin are admitted through what's known as the Top Ten Percent program, in which any student graduating within the top 10 percent of his or her class is guaranteed admission, regardless of race. The other 25 percent are admitted via a "holistic" process that takes race, and other factors, into account. It's the "holistic" program that Abigail Fisher—who was denied admission for the university in 2008—is challenging.
The University of Texas has determined that if it excluded race as a factor, that remaining 25 percent would be almost entirely white. During the oral arguments, former US Solicitor General Greg Garre, who is representing the university, was explaining this to the justices. At that point, Scalia jumped in, questioning whether increasing the number of African Americans at the flagship university in Austin was in the black students' best interests. He said:
There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well. One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don't come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they're being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.
He went on to say, "I'm just not impressed by the fact the University of Texas may have fewer [blacks]. Maybe it ought to have fewer. I don't think it stands to reason that it's a good thing for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible."
Read this between the lines. In his opinion, Blacks are not up to the same standards. They just can’t cut it.
I am reminded of what the great educator John Dewey said “Only through education can equality of opportunity be anything more than a phrase”
I say all that to come to this. His fascination with the Steel Band is in line with his thinking. During our lifetime, the Steel Band is the only new musical instrument of the 20th century.
Just sit back and reflect on this for a minute. Remember he loves the classics and was no doubt also fascinated by Beethoven. Can you see where I am going with this?
The Steel Band and its origin represent the form of intelligence that has framed Justice Scalia’s thinking and opinions. The Steel Ban rebukes his long held opinion and speaks to the constitution the document he frequently quotes in his opinions. “All men are created equal.”
Ah-So!!!
It would be helpful if you can give us your analysis on the BUSH vs GORE decision where he made the deciding vote. The first time in US history a President was SELECTED not ELECTED.
The world is now paying a price of that decision. Checkout the Middle East lately?, didn’t they say by invading Iraq they would be welcome as liberators and spread Democracy in the Middle East.
An originalist in his thinking but was influential in creating an activist court.
Based on your opinion of his thinking and the recent court decisions, Pan Men and Women will still be treated as second-class citizens. The sound of the DRUM was considered a threat to the slave masters, out of which this instrument "the steel-drum" was born.
Peace be with you.
Great