Justice Sotomayor in Chicago
Remember how “empathy” was turned into a bad word when President Obama used it to describe a quality he found essential for a potential nominee to the Supreme Court? How it was deemed inappropriate for a potential Justice to be human — to understand the potential impact of her decisions on those affected by them?
Even Justice Sonia Sotomayor was compelled to disagree with the president on this topic while being grilled by hostile Republican senators during her confirmation hearing. As if empathy and impartiality are mutually exclusive traits.
I am happy to report that Justice Sotomayor has shown it is indeed possible to be both. During an event in Chicago last Wednesday, she was...
...sharing heartfelt details about the stories laid out in her new memoir, “My Beloved World.”
She walked through the audience at the Harold Washington Public Library, gently touching people on the shoulder and embracing those who stood to ask her a question.
Oh. My. God.
She's supposed to be an umpire! How can she possibly be unbiased enough to accurately “call balls and strikes” when she's walking around hugging people!
Sotomayor wanted them to know that she is “not some god” up there on the bench.
“I want to be honest about my failures. Life is just not easy,” Sotomayor said, adding that those in the audience can say the same. “I am hoping that as people read the book, they will be able to talk about that at least to themselves and maybe open up to their friends.”
How about that? A Supreme Court Justice showing a little humility. One who acknowledges her own shortcomings, and, by sharing a little about them, hopes others might realize that setbacks in life are inevitable, but not insurmountable, because in so doing, we're better able to move forward:
She has made it clear that it was all of these experiences put her on the path to becoming a Supreme Court justice, the first Latina in America to attain such heights.
Role model. Plain and simple. Maybe this is what President Obama had in mind when he used that “empathy” word:
The tour has allowed her to make a personal connection with the public, something she said is necessary in order for people to know that she strives to make the best decisions based on the law.
But of course those opposed to her nomination probably felt this was a terrible thing for a Justice to do:
Earlier this month, she appeared on CBS' “60 Minutes,” taking correspondent Scott Pelley on a tour of her old Bronx, N.Y., neighborhood. At one point, she stopped on a corner and pointed out the public housing project she lived in and greeted a current resident in Spanish.
And this is just simply
unacceptable!...
Seven-year-old Tabbie Major, of Chicago's Austin neighborhood, wanted to know what her favorite book was at that age.
The judge lifted the young girl and gave her a hug.
Then she stood over her, with a hand resting on the girl's shoulder, and answered, “Nancy Drew” because she lived in a different world than [Sotomayor's].
Because dreaming big might get you a seat on the highest court in the land. You might even be able to
administer the oath of office to the Vice President.
The coolest thing of all? Instead of having to settle for just watching Sesame Street, you might actually get to be on Sesame Street.
........
(My emphasis in any quotes)