[lit-ideas] Re: (K)ant Kills Creativity
- From: "veronica caley" <molleo1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:13:42 -0400
<Who -- except racists -- care about her ethnicity?>
The Hispanics. They are pleased to have one of their own make it. As do
Irish Americans, Italian Americans, etc. And women. Look at all the stuff
people (not me) want to know about the tiniest details of the lives of
celebrities. William Renhquist, recently deceased Chief Justice was placed
on the court. The second in his graduating class was Sandra Day O'Connor.
She was offered a job as a legal secretary.
Sotomayor is probably better qualified for the Supreme Court than anyone on
it at the time of appointment, and probably now. She is certainly more
highly qualified than the Chief Justice, who has recently shown a much more
unfriendly side than he did at his confirmation. He had been a judge for a
very short time, had ruled on much fewer cases than she had.
I agree with Paglia re the lowering of standards in universities, not just
Princeton. Also true in high schools.
My observation is that this is not due to minorities, but rather, to middle
and upper class white parents. The attitude of young people here has been
that if they sat in the class, why shouldn't they get an A. One of my
relatives has been 'charged' in her university numerous times for failing
people. We have 'student faculty' courts for this. And the young
professors coming in think this is great.
<My intention in posting the article was the concluding
remark about "cant killing creativity." In the sense that
moral considerations are creative, cant (an absolute system)
destroys that creativity.>
I read one of your posts re Kant and morality. I believe you said that
morality requires empathy which requires imagination. (please correct if
need) Perhaps creativity does too. The problem with laws and their
administration is that they frequently ignore morality and justice to stick
to the letter of the law.
There is something incongruous to my mind of trying to govern 21st century
society as it exists by an 18th century document, without trying to look at
the spirit, rather than the letter. Lest the author of the statement, "The
law is an ass. It equally prohibits the rich and the poor man from sleeping
under the bridge."
As an aside, I am no way persuaded that the nominee in question will rule
very often in the way I would like her to.
Veronica Caley
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Yost" <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 2:57 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: (K)ant Kills Creativity
Veronica: I think neither one of us believed even before this that we are
a "post racist" country.
Last week, I read the phrase, "our post-racist culture" in a Time Magazine
puff piece about Obama being a child of Sesame Street, where there are
rainbow colored birds and (in ZA) a bird that's HIV positive.
My point is that these "group" tags are pernicious. The judge was first
presented to the public as a "Latina." Big whup. Who -- except racists --
care about her ethnicity?
Is she a good judge? Paglia seems to think she is quite intelligent enough
for the Supreme Court, given that Judge S went to Princeton before racist
quotas undermined its standards. (That's a paraphrase of Paglia's article,
by the way.)
My intention in posting the article was the concluding remark about "cant
killing creativity." In the sense that moral considerations are creative,
cant (an absolute system) destroys that creativity.
Group tags also destroy creativity ... but that's another matter.
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