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Sunday, May 20, 2007
Law - Justice Alito counsels St. Mary's grads
Margaret Fosmoe of the South Bend Tribune writes today on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s words to Saint Mary's College graduates yesterday:
"To all you graduates as you go out in the world, my advice to you is: Don't go. It's rough out there. Move back with your parents. Let them worry about it."Actually those are words that Justice Alito rejected:
Alito said some of his young law clerks irreverently suggested that he use the speech of Dangerfield in the film "Back to School." * * *Alito said he decided not to endorse the comic's suggestion. Instead, in advising graduates of the women's college, the justice referred to the Constitution.
The U.S. Constitution is relatively short -- about 4,500 words, Alito noted. That compares to a recently proposed European constitution that runs more than 160,000 words.
The U.S. Constitution is brief because it separates matters that are essential and fundamental from matters that are simply important, Alito said. If the framers of the Constitution had taken a different approach, the document might not still be in effect today, he said.
That approach serves as a good example of what we should do in our lives, Alito told the graduates. It involves keeping constantly in mind what is essential and most permanent, he said.
"Particularly as you go out in the world, you will find that the things that call most insistently upon you for attention on a daily basis are not necessarily the things that are most important in the long run," he said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 20, 2007 09:01 AM
Posted to General Law Related