Did Sandra Day O'Conner Dis Dim Son?

[alfredo]

She used the words of John Winthrop.

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses . . .”
--John Winthrop, aboard the Arbella, 1630


It could have been unintentional, but it is quite pertinent now.

[LittleApple81]

1. I don't know if she did it on purpose... but it applies, doesn't it?? n/t

[LittleApple81]

2. And it is O'Connor, not O'Conner. n/t

[DarkPhenyx]

3. The easiest way to dis Bush...

...is to make him use big words. Intellectual quotes would be a waste of effort.

[LisaM]

4. They need to stop with that city on the hill stuff.

Oh sure, it was a favorite passage of Reagan's. Blah blah blah. He probably thinks that he gave the "I Have a Dream" speech (I have seen the city on the hill!) because he saw it on tv. Hello? It was MLK who brought that phrase into our consciousness.

[alfredo]

5. Especially since bush has

made it a target.

[Rich Hunt]

6. I thought I heard

I thought I heard that the quote was a favorite of Reagan's and that Reagan had asked her to read it at his funeral. It's still weird, but what is also funny is that Winthrop is John Kerry's ancestor.

[LisaM]

9. Like I said

Reagan probably liked the quote because he thought he himself delivered the "I have a dream" speech. Like he thought he liberated death camp victims.

[berry]

7. I took it that way.

No knowing (yet) if O'Connor is disenchanted enough to have intended this reading. But surely the SCOTUS must be keeping an eye on what is happening, and may even have sources of information we haven't heard yet.

Apropos of nothing special, isn't John Winthrop an ancestor of Kerry's?

[TexasSissy]

8. Isn't John Winthrop John Kerry's ancestor?