Today on Uncommon Knowledge, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia explains what the Constitution actually means, not what it should mean.
“For the average citizen it is seductive to think that the Constitution means what it ought to mean. It is a living Constitution. Anything I care passionately about it is right there in the Constitution. People used to say when they do not like something that is going on that there ought to be a law. There used to be a comic strip that there ought to be a law about people playing boom boxes in the park and stuff like that. People do not say that anymore, they say it is unconstitutional if they really passionately about it, which is even more seductive to judges. It is a wonderful thing to have a constitutional case, and you are always happy with the result because it means exactly what you think it ought to mean.”