QOTD: Amy Davidson

QOTD: Amy Davidson

by digby

From this fascinating short piece about the different ways the conservative and liberal Supreme Court judges view the notion of politeness:


There is an etiquette in political exchanges, which Kagan seems aware of: we make a gesture, we wait expectantly, and demand a certain grace—even when it might be more useful to disrupt it. What that politeness often ignores is need or inequality, which can mark the difference between connoisseurship, condescension, and vulnerability to coercion. As Kagan notes, when describing the pressures on the hypothetical person who comes before the government: “After all, she wants, very badly, what the judge or poll worker or immigration official has to offer.”

This is about the ruling on government prayer from this week. I think this perfectly describes one of the fundamental differences between the two competing ideologies. What conservatives call politeness is really deference to authority. What liberals call politeness is sensitivity to the least powerful among us. I wonder which way Jesus would fall on that question?

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