Government cannot make us equal; it can only recognize, respect, and protect us as equal before the law. Clarence Thomas More Quotes by Clarence Thomas More Quotes From Clarence Thomas And I thank God I believe in God, or I would probably be enormously angry right now. Clarence Thomas thank-god right-now believe The Constitution contains no 'dignity' Clause, and even if it did, the government would be incapable of bestowing dignity. ... Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved. Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them. And those denied governmental benefits certainly do not lose their dignity because the government denies them those benefits. Clarence Thomas gay-marriage government humanity I'd been very partial to Malcolm X, particularly his self-help teachings. Clarence Thomas teaching self helping I don't know one of my friends who is considered a conservative who has not had to go back and thoroughly think through everything. You do a lot of soul-searching - 'cause we are not going to win any popularity contests. Clarence Thomas friends winning thinking In our society, marriage is not simply a governmental institution; it is a religious institution as well, today's decision might change the former, but it cannot change the latter. Clarence Thomas decision change religious You didn't think of angels as white or black. They were angels. Clarence Thomas angel white thinking My grandfather was a man, when he talked about freedom, his attitude was really interesting. His view was that you had obligations or you had responsibilities, and when you fulfilled those obligations or responsibilities, that then gave you the liberty to do other things. So the freedoms that we talk about today, the liberties that we talk about today were the benefits that you got from discharging your responsibilities. Clarence Thomas responsibility attitude men A theory deeply etched in our law [is that] a free society prefers to punish the few who abuse the rights of free speech after they break the law rather than to throttle them and all others beforehand. Clarence Thomas rights law justice Any discrimination, like sharp turns in a road, becomes critical because of the tremendous speed at which we are traveling into the high-tech world of a service economy. Clarence Thomas discrimination technology world The myths that are created about the South, about the way we grew up, about black people, are wrong. Clarence Thomas black people way The Constitution, in addition to delegating certain enumerated powers to Congress, places whole areas outside the reach of Congress' regulatory authority. The First Amendment, for example, is fittingly celebrated for preventing Congress from "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion or "abridging the freedom of speech." The Second Amendment similarly appears to contain an express limitation on the government's authority. Clarence Thomas freedom-of-speech government exercise The thing that bothered me when I was in college was that I saw myself rejecting the way of life that got me to where I was. Clarence Thomas saws college way I'm not an Uncle Tom. . .. I'm going to be here for 40 years. For those who don't like it, get over it. Clarence Thomas uncles complaining years I was never a liberal. I was radical. I was cynical. I was negative. But, I was never a liberal. I always saw that as too lukewarm for me. Clarence Thomas cynical saws negative But what I believe is that if a person's individual rights or right to be a part of our economic system is violated under statute, we aggressively go after it. But we don't issue mandates to businesses that you've got to do this and you've got to do that. Clarence Thomas issues rights believe Even as someone who's labeled a conservative - I'm a Republican I'm black, I'm heading up this organization in the Reagan administration - I can say that conservatives don't exactly break their necks to tell blacks that they're welcome. Clarence Thomas black break-up organization The truth of the matter is we have become more interested in designer jeans and break dancing than we are in obligations and responsibilities. Clarence Thomas jeans dancing responsibility The absolute worst I have ever been treated, the worst things that have been done to me, the worst things that have been said about me, are by northern liberal elites, not by the people of Savannah, Georgia. Clarence Thomas savannah done people While the romanticized ideal of universal public education resonates with the cognoscenti who oppose vouchers, poor urban families just want the best education for their children, who will certainly need it to function in our high-tech and advanced society. Clarence Thomas politics children needs A good argument diluted to avoid criticism is not nearly as good as the undiluted argument, because we best arrive at truth through a process of honest and vigorous debate. Arguments should not sneak around in disguise, as if dissent were somehow sinister... For it is bravery that is required to secure freedom. Clarence Thomas truth courage justice
