“Equal Justice Under Law.” Those simple but powerful words are engraved above the entrance of our Supreme Court. Those words, along with “justice is blind,” have been a belief of countless generations. They are the foundation of our democracy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Court’s Creative LLC v. Elenis decision, that our Constitution provides the right to discriminate against others, brought to end any possible belief that all someday will be treated equally under the law. That majority decision ranks with Dred Scott v. Sandford decision.

I believed we had turned a corner on Nov. 4, 2008, with the election of a black man as president. President Reagan said in his farewell address that America would achieve the goal of being “A shining city on a hill,” a phrase that came from John Winthrop’s sermon to settlers (immigrants) of our country. What was revived that day was the hate of people of color. It was so injurious that President Obama had to release his long-form birth certificate. A shameful moment in our collective history.

The rise of white nationalism and religious dogma is driving our politics and the rule of law. Many reject our country’s original sin of slavery by disallowing our history. Bigotry thrives even as we all know that no infant is born racist, they are taught to hate as they grow. I’m approaching 70 and what I have lived in those few short decades tear me apart. It is our collective failure that we refuse to achieve that all are created equal and must be treated as such.

Justice is not the same if you are black or poor, a woman, indigenous, Hispanic, or gay, and the list goes on. The Court codified bigotry as our legal legacy for generations to come.

 

Mike Grove

Belgrade Lakes

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