A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a day when you could move away from the news with a smile on your face. This was a whole week of that despite the sadness of the funerals for nine people gunned down in that church in Charleston, South Carolina.
At the beginning of the week it at least appeared that symbol of slavery, the Confederate flag was coming down from the capitals of the South. While it's about time, I thought the effort was a nice bait and switch on the part of the NRA to shuttle the outrage away from gun control and toward taking down a flag. Did anyone else notice the NRA officials pretty quiet about the flag issue, probably happy the issue shifted that way. Nonetheless, probably all right to see that symbol discarded. Did you know that design was never used during the Civil War? It became popular during the civil rights era, used by the Ku Klux Klan. So much for Confederate pride.
Then came Thursday and the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act. It's legal and constitutional. And those six million people who use state exchanges won't lose their health insurance. Big win for President Obama and his administration and the millions of people who previously could not afford an acceptable level of health insurance.
But the Supremes weren't finished yet. Friday came the decision making same-sex marriage the law of the land. The best thing I saw written about that came out of Hillary Clinton's campaign, saying after years of state-by-state, court-by-court progress it turned out the answer was there in the Constitution all the time. From now on it will be just simply "marriage."
Those two decisions tend to renew a person's faith in the American system. How much do you remember from your high school history class? I don't know why, but this one thing (among others) stuck with me all these years. I remember an American history teacher telling us the authors of the Constitution had made appointments to the Supreme Court a lifetime proposition. That was to assure, because it would be the last job they held, the justices might be immune to pressures and political influences and give them the opportunity to think and judge objectively. For the most part over the years it has worked except maybe for the pressure and conflict of interest Clarence Thomas seems to enjoy from his public relations wife.
I had to laugh at the clueless Republicans after those decisions. Mike Huckabee says he doesn't accept the decision. I think that means he cannot honestly take the oath of office if he were elected president as that oath pledges upholding the Constitution. Ted Cruze called for a way to recall or vote justices off the court. That's exactly why the framers made the appointments lifetime so some ding-dong politician cannot influence the justices. It goes on. There's a minister who said he would set himself on fire if gay marriage was allowed. So far he has remained cool. Several others have threatened to move to Canada. Good luck with that; same sex marriage has been legal north of the border for ten years.
Over all it has been one hell of a week for the overall health of our democracy and our citizenry. The capper came Friday when the President of the United States delivered the eulogy for a minister slain in that church in Charleston. At the end of his speech, a man in the office that anoints him leader of the free world, unhesitatingly launched in the traditional funereal song "Amazing Grace" and was soon joined by the huge audience who stood as one and sang with the president. It was a moving moment and one that may stand along with his speech for a long time in the history of the country.
Overall it had to be a satisfying week for those who cheer as American democracy advances toward the lofty ideals it was founded upon and one to renew the faith in the process of that democracy to persevere.
President Barack Obama leads the congregation in "Amazing Grace."
President Obama's complete eulogy
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