SCOTUS and gay marriage #6: Chief Justice can see no evil.

Chief Justice John Roberts must live in a bubble.  He seemed incredulous that Congress could have had any biased motivations or moral judgment in passing DOMA, despite the language in DOMA that says specifically that one of the governmental interests is "defending traditional notions of morality."  The 1996 text includes the following:

"Civil laws that permit only heterosexual marriage reflect and honor a collective moral judgment about human sexuality. This judgment entails both moral disapproval of homosexuality, and a moral conviction that heterosexuality better comports with traditional (especially Judeo-Christian) morality." 

Roberts seems to be unaware that many people in our society experience discrimination, deprivation, hardship, and injustice.   To him, the world is simple, and it is basically good.  He has lived a privileged life, apparently without hardship, worked in the White House and elite law firms, where he mostly handled appellate briefs for the strong and privileged, not the oppressed.

He has previously made comments from the bench, or in written opinions, that imply he sees no problem in some of the discrimination cases brought before the court:

"Things have changed in the South," he wrote in striking down a section of the Civil Rights Act, despite relentless efforts in the South and elsewhere to make it difficult for minority voters to cast their ballots. 

John Roberts needs to have some real world experience outside his comfortable bubble that sees no evil and no deprivation or discrimination in our world.   Otherwise, he is going to lead our highest court into an unreal view of the world that has real world consequences for people in need or those treated unjustly.

I'm putting my faith in the three women on the court, however.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who experienced the discrimination against women in her young professional career;   Sonia Sotomayor, who grew up living in housing projects without a father;  and Elena Kagan, who by sheer strength of her intellect, made it into the highest levels previously closed to women (first female Dean of Harvard Law School, U. S. Solicitor General).   They should, over time, be able to broaden Robert's horizons -- if he will listen to them.

He's not a bad man;  just limited in life experience and biased by his political philosophy.

Ralph