Paul Waldman says that understanding and compassion are good traits in an ever diversifying country:
Back in 2007, Barack Obama said that if he got the chance to make a Supreme Court appointment, one of his criteria for a justice would be a capacity for “empathy.” Conservatives were predictably outraged. But last week, we got to see what it looks like when a justice is unable to view the world from another’s perspective. While Salazar v. Buono may not be too important in the grand scheme of things, one particular exchange during oral arguments ought to make conservatives give some thought to the quality of empathy. Because in the years to come, they’re going to learn more about it, whether they want to or not.
The case concerned a dispute over a large cross erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars to honor those killed in war. Trouble was, they erected it on federal government land in the Mojave National Preserve. Similar to cases involving other religious displays, the question was whether the government can sponsor what is effectively an endorsement of one particular religion. But apparently, Justice Antonin Scalia didn’t see it that way.
