Apples and oranges, my friend. Maintaining socialist ideals is a rather rarefied posture in this society, but *everyone* has the sanctity of the law drummed into him/her at a very young age. We are all indoctrinated with the notion that being "a nation of laws not men" protects us from the whims of entrenched power.
>But this is not what you mean. You mean that I fail to realize that we live
>in a deeply racist system where justice is class justice, although I do
>believe this and have said it.
Absolutely, but you still seem to get excessively misty-eyed when some of our great national saints are processed about. A few days ago, you posted to the list:
"because I am not as left as some of you, I have establishment heros too--I think the Constitution, for all its flaws, is a great achievement; not least because of the 14th Amendment; I am a great admirer of John Marshall and OW Holmes, Learned Hand, Hugo Black and Thurgood Marshall. Towering over our landscape is the shadow of Lincoln."
OW Holmes -- wasn't he the champion of the little guy who wrote, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough," in support of compulsory sterilization? And (leaving aside the question of how a shadow can tower over a landscape) wasn't Lincoln the fellow who bounced the Bill of Rights around but good while trying to preserve his precious Union?
Carl ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com