[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f4rBwICjRTFC4SIkwHELbGfAgMLe7wC_xMnrCVq02ouQ":3,"$fjBjkzMeQImJvzjjuNNeB940RhHq5DBOj7p0wSjiSg_s":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},24934,"Harry A. Blackmun","H",35,null,"harry-a-blackmun",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":94},[14,22,30,36,42,48,60,66,77,83],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3692409,"The right of an individual to conduct intimate relationships in the intimacy of his or her own home seems to me to be the heart of the Constitution's protection of privacy.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":26,"source":27,"quote_tag":28,"commentary":29},3067821,"A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that god prefers some.",6,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is attributed to Harry A. Blackmun, the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who wrote it in his dissenting opinion in the 1985 case of Wallace v. Jaffree. During this time, the court was grappling with issues of church-state separation and the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Blackmun, known for his liberal leanings, was advocating for a more stringent separation of church and state.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a profound paradox at the heart of American democracy: the idea that equality and preference are fundamentally incompatible. By highlighting the tension between the notion that all persons are created equal and the assertion that God prefers some, Blackmun exposes the subtle yet pernicious ways in which divine preference can be used to justify inequality. This insight challenges the notion that equality can be achieved through divine authority or preference.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn today's professional and personal lives, we often face situations where we must navigate competing values or ideals. To apply Blackmun's insight, recognize that true equality cannot be premised on preference, whether it be divine or human. Instead, strive for a more nuanced understanding of equality, one that acknowledges and values diversity, rather than seeking to impose a preferred outcome.",{"id":31,"quote_text":32,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":33,"source":34,"quote_tag":35,"commentary":9},3067805,"If there is any truth to the old proverb that “one who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client,” the Court now bestows a constitutional right on one to make a fool of himself.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":37,"quote_text":38,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":39,"source":40,"quote_tag":41,"commentary":9},3067785,"We’re all eccentrics. We’re nine prima donnas.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":43,"quote_text":44,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":45,"source":46,"quote_tag":47,"commentary":9},3067754,"I cannot see any of these death penalty cases where there hasn’t been a violation on the ground of either poverty or race. If we can ever get that straightened out, it will help. But, of course, the real answer to it is to do away with the death penalty.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":49,"quote_text":50,"author_id":5,"source_id":51,"has_image":18,"author":52,"source":53,"quote_tag":54,"commentary":9},1031502,"The mixing of government and religion can be a threat to free government, even if no one is forced to participate.... When the government puts its imprimatur on a particular religion, it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs. A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some.",4,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[55],{"id":56,"tag":57},4032771,{"id":58,"tag_name":59},2100,"atheism",{"id":61,"quote_text":62,"author_id":5,"source_id":51,"has_image":18,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":9},1031496,"We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":51,"has_image":18,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":9},1031489,"I hope you will be yourself, human, even a little sentimental, possessed of a sense of humor and a sense of humility. . . . There are arrogant people in this world and, what is worse, arrogant judges.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[72],{"id":73,"tag":74},4032759,{"id":75,"tag_name":76},4773,"being-yourself",{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":51,"has_image":18,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":9},1031481,"The right to privacy...is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":51,"has_image":18,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":9},1031475,"Over our history there are always those who want to take this wall of separation and remove a brick here or there or damage it more than that. I think one has to be vigilant and constantly on the alert.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[89],{"id":90,"tag":91},4032744,{"id":92,"tag_name":93},56,"thinking",{"currentPage":95,"totalPages":51,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":96},1,10]