Scalia, that jurist who proves that the Catholics managed to educate some people alright, has died. Et Lux Perpetua Libera.
But he said some truth over the years, and this is part of it. It is not your feelings or your good intentions or zeal that count: it is knowing that what you are doing is tested and true and right. Bismark was zealous for a united Germany, and I am sure that the French of the second republic wanted to restore France from the Napoleonic disaster. But that led to the Franco-Prussian wars, and the imbalances that destroyed the imperial system, and all the good it had done, in the Great war.
“[A] platitude I want discuss comes in many flavors. It can be variously delivered as, ‘Follow your star,’ or ‘Never compromise your principles.’ Or, quoting Polonius in ‘Hamlet’ — who people forget was supposed to be an idiot — ‘To thine ownself be true.’ Now this can be very good or very bad advice. Indeed, follow your star if you want to head north and it’s the North Star. But if you want to head north and it’s Mars, you had better follow somebody else’s star.
“Indeed, never compromise your principles. Unless, of course, your principles are Adolf Hitler’s. In which case, you would be well advised to compromise your principles, as much as you can.
“And indeed, to thine ownself be true, depending upon who you think you are. It’s a belief that seems particularly to beset modern society, that believing deeply in something, and following that belief, is the most important thing a person could do. Get out there and picket, or boycott, or electioneer, or whatever. I am here to tell you that it is much less important how committed you are, than what you are committed to. If I had to choose, I would always take the less dynamic, indeed even the lazy person who knows what’s right, than the zealot in the cause of error. He may move slower, but he’s headed in the right direction.
“Movement is not necessarily progress. More important than your obligation to follow your conscience, or at least prior to it, is your obligation to form your conscience correctly. Nobody — remember this — neither Hitler, nor Lenin, nor any despot you could name, ever came forward with a proposal that read, ‘Now, let’s create a really oppressive and evil society.’ Hitler said, ‘Let’s take the means necessary to restore our national pride and civic order.’ And Lenin said, ‘Let’s take the means necessary to assure a fair distribution of the goods of the world.’
The commentariat on this is interesting. From what I can gather, the republicans will try to block any nominee until after the election (which is November: but the historians say that sometimes there has been a vacancy for over a year). The left want Citizens United overturned, which freed corporations to shill on political issues and cut down the chance of censorship.
And the Hard Right are mourning, because Scalia and Thomas are the two justices who took the Bill of Rights seriously.
But then, not my issue. I live in the commonwealth, where we have this kind of stuff to deal with. (Glavic, I have been saving this): the Dangerous Speech project did reply… and they agree with me on one thing… hate speech is hard to define. And hateful speech is just a tumblr search away.
We are very much committed to freedom of expression – our project director spent a decade as a journalist before going into human rights law, and I own a significant stake in a media startup in my hometown. Part of the reason we created the Dangerous Speech framework is to help governments, platforms, etc. resist the urge to ban “hate speech,” which is a poorly defined category that often includes anything the regulator doesn’t want to hear.
It is the last sentence in Tonei’s comment that is true. Hate speech is a proxy for censoring that which makes one uncomfortable. I’d go further: often the most hateful policies come with the smoothest speech and arguments that no patriot would disagree with. Prussia must be great. France must be great. We must do something to help the poor and share the wealth.
Censorship starts with good intentions. In this fallen world, censorship leads to corruption. Scalia knew this. When the elite became corrupt and demanded he was polite, he became acerbic.
Many would say that the American republic is in peril if the current situation of bureaucratic law — banning what regulators do not like without any due process — continues. They may be correct: but I am not a citizen of that republic. My only allegience is to those of my faith, who look to a kingdom not of this world. And tonight, let is pray for Scalia’s family, who have lost him, and those of faith, whom he protected.
And let us hold our best intentions lightly, knowing that our very best thoughts contain the seeds of destruction.
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