- In a new book, Thomas said Americans seem to have “lost interest” in constitutional issues.
- “They are interested in what they want, not what is right as a state,” he said in the book.
- Thomas said Scalia shared similar feelings with him about the lack of urgency in defending freedoms.
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In a new book, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas expressed “disappointment” that more Americans are no longer committed to the Constitution and remain vigilant about protecting freedoms.
In the book Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, co-edited by Michael Pack and Mark Paolletta, Thomas was interviewed by Pack for over 30 hours between November 2017 and March 2018, which became an extended satellite of the 2020 documentary of the same name.
During the conversation, Thomas said that people seem to be less attentive to the Constitution.
“I think we as citizens have lost interest and that was my disappointment. This was certainly something that worried Judge Scalia that people tended to be more interested in their iPhones than in their constitution. “They are interested in what they want, not in what is exactly like a state,” he said.
When Pack asked if the loss of interest among the population was a “burden on the Supreme Court,” Thomas disagreed.
“No, this is a burden for them, the citizens,” he said. “They will lose their freedoms.”
When Thomas was asked if the Supreme Court served to protect freedoms, he said the nine-member body was only “part of the effort.”
“You are defending your freedom. This is your country. We are part of the effort and it is the duty of the citizens to at least know what their freedoms are and to be informed,” he said.
He added: “I think we allow ourselves to be governed when we pass all this on to someone else and say, ‘Manage me.’ Does that mean we have to make all the decisions? No. We have a system for that, but part of it is our role in it and our informed role in it, not what is said on television, not what is said by some semi-informed person. “
Last week, Thomas played a key role in the annulment of Rowe against Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States and gave constitutional procedure.
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-3 to uphold the Mississippi abortion ban as it voted 5-4 to repeal Roe.
The decision on abortion rights is now up to the states; Thirteen states had “trigger laws” that effectively banned abortion procedures as soon as the court overturned Rowe.
In his agreed opinion, Thomas wrote that the court should “review” previous decisions on contraception, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage to prove that cases involving the due process clause of the 14th Amendment need to be reconsidered.
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