The Law and Justice Room
An interesting discussion of the purpose of civic participation in democracy. Both agree on the importance of civil discussion, the means; but even in opening remarks, you see two distinct views of the ends. Sotomayor, a progressive, wants civic participation to end in change; Gorsuch, a conservative, wants it to end in an enduring Constitution and nation.
From the transcript: Sotomayor: "if we don't learn how to talk to each other how to discuss things with each other and how to change things in a positive rather than a negative way and that's what civic participation is about that's what civic education is about it's about teaching people about our institutions about their importance their strengths and their fragility and engaging people in being active participants in change with knowledge and with passion but without hatred and i say that because too much of our conversation in our nation is centered on the negative and too little on the positive of what we share in common and so for me this issue of civics is so critically important in this time in our history"
Gorsuch: "um how can a democracy function if we can't talk to one another and if we can't disagree kindly with respect with for one another's differences and different points of view um i i think our court is is a pretty good example of of how democracy is supposed to work you have people from all across the country with radically different life experiences and different points of view but all of whom share a love for this country and a love for our constitution and more than that really love one another and respect one another and listen to one another and you you ask you know how should we think about it the question of civics in this day and age and i think the question is an enduring one we've had strife from the beginning of the republic any any student watching this who's seen hamilton can recall some incidents in our early history that shows some examples of where disagreement got out of hand but the fact of the matter is if we're going to endure if this constitution of ours is going to make make it work over time we're already the oldest living republic in the world in history and if that's going to continue to work it's going to take work from all of us and recognizing that all of us love this country and that we're not coming at it to hurt one another but to work together with one another to make this a better place"
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