In time for July 4, Supreme Court reinforced liberty, justice and equality for all | Opinion

Just ahead of Independence Day, the Supreme Court released several rulings that kept progressivism at bay and righted America yet again, reminding Americans everywhere that freedom and the Constitution reign supreme in this country — not a political party, a particular community, a newfangled socialist idea or an old racist policy.

President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program is a compelling example. Knowing Biden didn’t have the authority to institute true loan forgiveness — only Congress has that power — he did it anyway for political points. Millions of Americans, strapped with robust monthly payments, enjoyed a lengthy hiatus, believing the idea would actually be permanent.

Authority aside, the concept in and of itself is asinine: Arbitrary college loan forgiveness is a page right out of a socialist’s playbook and a slippery slope toward why Winston Churchill said socialism is the “philosophy of failure… its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

Justice Elena Kagan attempted to make a persuasive argument and failed miserably.

A portion of her dissent: “So imagine the horrific. A terrorist organization sets off a dirty bomb in Chicago. Beyond causing deaths, the incident leads millions of residents (including many with student loans) to flee the city to escape the radiation. They must find new housing, probably new jobs. And still their student-loan bills are coming due every month. To prevent widespread loan delinquencies and defaults, the Secretary wants to discharge $10,000 for the class of affected borrowers. Is that legal? Of course it is; it is exactly what Congress provided for.”

What about the generations before who paid theirs back? What about my parents? If college loans should be wiped away, per Biden’s bizarre logic, why not rent? Why not a mortgage? Why not a car loan? Where does loan forgiveness really end? The idea was always absurd, and yet Biden wrapped millions of Americans up in the blanket of relief and waited for the Supreme Court to tear it away. That there were three justices who actually thought Biden’s plan was sound and that he had the authority to do this is nauseating. Imagine our country’s economy five years from now if this had been left to stand.

This, too, was the problem many Americans have had with critical race theory percolating into our K-12 schools. Justice Clarence Thomas, a black man who grew up in the segregated South, slammed this, writing, “Such a view is irrational; it is an insult to individual achievement and cancerous to young minds seeking to push through barriers, rather than consign themselves to permanent victimhood.”

Finally, the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the right to free speech in the 303 Creative v. Elenis case, which has already been misconstrued as one that allows people of faith to discriminate based on identity, or in this case, the LGBTQ+ community. Not so.

Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act would have compelled Lorie Smith to create websites celebrating messages with which she does not agree. The majority simply ruled that this is unconstitutional: No one, Christian or gay, atheist or Jewish, should be forced to “speak” (create, etc.) in a way that defies one’s conscience. This ruling protects all people.

As Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion, “(T)he opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong. Of course, abiding the Constitution’s commitment to the freedom of speech means all of us will encounter ideas we consider ‘unattractive,’ ‘misguided, or even hurtful,’ But tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer.”

Through Congress, the left and the right often use laws to advance a particular cause, be it loan forgiveness, racism or bigotry. But this country must remain indentured to nothing but the idea of liberty and justice for all; the idea, as Thomas said, that “all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law.” The Supreme Court is not always right, but they were this session and they have kept the lamps of liberty burning just a bit longer.

Nicole Russell is an opinion writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 2:35 PM.