Clarence Thomas and the Lost Constitution tells the story of an inspiring American. Justice Thomas grew up under segregation in Georgia, but his grandfather made a significant difference in his life. He raised his grandson to be hard working and self reliant. His grandfather was careful to make sure that Thomas was occupied with work, involving him in managing the family business and working the family farm on the weekends. He sent Thomas to a Catholic school where he was schooled in the basics of the Constitution and academic excellence.
During college, Thomas embraced social justice in the face of racism. He remained a believer in social justice for a time, but he eventually saw the rage in himself that grew from the philosophy he embraced. He vowed to banish that bitter root. Recalling the lessons of his grandfather, he completed law school. He came to see that many problems in the African American community stemmed from fatherlessness and the breakdown of the family, fostered by Democrat welfare policies. Racism or “structural inequalities built into the economy” were not the main drivers of economic differences. The real drivers were the consequences of policies and cultural attitudes promoted by the Democratic party. After serving several roles within the government, he was eventually nominated to the Supreme Court. The then Senator Joe Biden and his Democrat colleagues orchestrated a smear campaign against Justice Thomas to keep him off of the Supreme Court. It was a preview of the dishonest tactics Democrats would use with Justice Kavanaugh. Magnet does an excellent job recounting the dishonesty of Democrats during the Thomas hearings. For an excellent recap of the Kavanaugh hearings, look into Justice on Trial by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino.
The book then proceeds to explain Justice Thomas’s judicial philosophy, summarizing his most important rulings. The recounting of his key decisions provides a roadmap by which Americans can begin to think again about how to limit the role of the National government in daily life. To delve into Thomas’s thought is to see the wisdom, focus and grit that it will take to live as a free people. Perhaps the most memorable moment of the book comes when Justice Thomas insists that we take a hard look at what the “emanations and penumbras” of sloppy judicial reasoning have brought into the world. When you reach the passage, it will stop you cold.
Overall, the book is a work about a great American whose life and philosophy are an inspiration. We can only hope that a generation of young Americans choose to learn from an exceptional man, both the example of his life and the insight of his Constitutional reasoning.
See:
Clarence Thomas and the Lost Constitution by Myron Magnet
Justice on Trial by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino
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