Subjectivity for Lct1 Wgu
Task A
In Maureen Dowd’s opinion column entitled “Happily Never After?” she expresses doubt in the Supreme Courts ability to rule in a way that she feels is fair to the Gay and Lesbian community. In her view the Supreme Court Justices are out of touch with society and they will fail to provide equality for gay couples who are only seeking equal respect in the law; to be treated just like other Americans and have the legal right to marry in their “pursuit of happiness.”
Dowd begins her article with the sentence “I’m worried about the Supreme Court” (Dowd, 2013). The word “worried” reappears in the very next sentence. That, in conjunction with the words “disconcertingly disconnected” (Dowd, 2013) used to describe the Justices in the following paragraph denotes an anxious tone and a concern for the ability of the Justices. Dowd portrays the Justices as being out of touch by referring to the “The Nine” (Dowd, 2013) as being “back there in their Miss Havisham lairs” (Dowd, 2013). This reference to Charles Dickens Great Expectations character Miss Havisham, a spoiled, rich women who has separated herself from reality and knows nothing of real life and its trials, shows that Dowd views the Justices as completely out of touch with the general public and what the general public wants. This view of the Justices as being detached from the pulse of the nation may stem from her upbringing. Dowd was born, raised and attended college in Washington D.C. Her father was a police inspector on the Washington D.C. police force. In 1986, Dowd became the Washington correspondent for The New York Times (Dowd, Bio). Her harsh criticism of anything political comes from growing up in the city of politicians and then having interaction with them as a newspaper reporter. Here she saw first-hand the special treatment and arrogance of those who hold high political offices, which would include members of the Supreme Court. This insight into the attitude of the privileged
In Maureen Dowd’s opinion column entitled “Happily Never After?” she expresses doubt in the Supreme Courts ability to rule in a way that she feels is fair to the Gay and Lesbian community. In her view the Supreme Court Justices are out of touch with society and they will fail to provide equality for gay couples who are only seeking equal respect in the law; to be treated just like other Americans and have the legal right to marry in their “pursuit of happiness.”
Dowd begins her article with the sentence “I’m worried about the Supreme Court” (Dowd, 2013). The word “worried” reappears in the very next sentence. That, in conjunction with the words “disconcertingly disconnected” (Dowd, 2013) used to describe the Justices in the following paragraph denotes an anxious tone and a concern for the ability of the Justices. Dowd portrays the Justices as being out of touch by referring to the “The Nine” (Dowd, 2013) as being “back there in their Miss Havisham lairs” (Dowd, 2013). This reference to Charles Dickens Great Expectations character Miss Havisham, a spoiled, rich women who has separated herself from reality and knows nothing of real life and its trials, shows that Dowd views the Justices as completely out of touch with the general public and what the general public wants. This view of the Justices as being detached from the pulse of the nation may stem from her upbringing. Dowd was born, raised and attended college in Washington D.C. Her father was a police inspector on the Washington D.C. police force. In 1986, Dowd became the Washington correspondent for The New York Times (Dowd, Bio). Her harsh criticism of anything political comes from growing up in the city of politicians and then having interaction with them as a newspaper reporter. Here she saw first-hand the special treatment and arrogance of those who hold high political offices, which would include members of the Supreme Court. This insight into the attitude of the privileged
Cited: Dowd, Maureen. (2013). Happily Never After? Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/opinion/dowd-happily-never-after.html?ref=columnists (accessed April 3, 2013) Maureen Dowd. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/maureen-dowd-278915. (accessed April, 5 2013) Excerpt from “Happily Never After?” by Maureen Dowd I’m worried about the Supreme Court. I’m worried about how the justices can properly debate same-sex marriage when some don’t even seem to realize that most Americans use the word “gay” now instead of “homosexual”; when Chief Justice John Roberts thinks gays are merely concerned with marriage as a desirable “label,” and when Justice Samuel Alito compares gay marriage to cellphones. The Nine are back there in their Miss Havisham lairs mulling, disconcertingly disconnected. In his zeal to scare people about the “possible deleterious effect” of gay parents adopting, Justice Antonin Scalia did not seem fully cognizant that gays and lesbians can have their own biological children.