The Supreme Court and the Seven Deadly Sins

I have long been fascinated by the Christian* tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, and I've written several posts about them and their manifestation in the modern world. In case you're not familiar with the Seven Deadly Sins, they are

Pride - pride is considered the original and the worst of the seven deadly sins. It leads to irrational self-confidence, impulsiveness, and an unwillingness to seek or heed good advice. Vainglory (unjustified boasting**) is considered a form of pride.

Greed - an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially wealth.

Wrath - uncontrolled feelings of rage or hatred, or a desire for vengeance for perceived wrongs.

Envy - sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of someone else.

Lust - while we think of lust in the sense of intense sexual desire, it actually means an fierce desire for anything, such as money, power, or social position.

Gluttony - usually thought of in terms of gross overeating, it is the overindulgence or overconsumption of anything to the point of waste.

Sloth - indolence, laziness, or the habitual avoidance of exertion. Unlike the other six deadly sins, sloth is a sin of omission (the failure to perform ones responsibilities) rather than commission (of some act that is wrong or immoral).

It occurs to me that most of the conservative members of the Supreme Court reflect one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins:

Greed, Wrath, and Envy mark Justice Clarence Thomas. His eager acceptance of gifts and services from wealthy friends and patrons, regardless of the perception of ethical compromise, are clear examples of greed, while his disdainful refusal to even consider them to be a problem, and his accusation that those who point out such problems are motivated by racism rather than concern for justice shows wrath. He is also guilty of envy, which drives him to seek from questionably ethical sources the better things of life he believes his meager salary as a Supreme Court justice denies him.

Greed, Wrath, and Pride mark Justice Samuel Alito. Like Justice Thomas, Justice Alito happily accepts questionable gifts (greed), bristles at any criticism of his behavior (wrath), and clearly believes he's above criticism, anyhow (pride).

Sloth and Pride mark Chief Justice John Roberts. His foot-dragging reluctance to lead the court to a clear stand on politically difficult decisions (sloth) undercuts his role as the Chief Justice, while and his tone-deaf defense of a court that has a clear crisis of public confidence (pride) reflects a reluctance to deal with the obvious.

Lust and Gluttony seem to work well for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, although he's tried to keep his head down after the exposure of his college era drinking and sexual issues during his confirmation hearings. "I like beer" is not the sort of historic quote one expects to hear in that environment.

Sloth applies to Justice Neil Gorsuch insofar as his emphasis on "textualism" and "originalism" reflects a reluctance to deal with the intellectual and moral difficulty of interpreting a 250-year-old Constitution to account political and social conditions its drafters never imagined.

I'm not sure yet which (if any) of the deadly sins Amy Coney Barrett represents ... so far, she's a bit of an unknown quantity, generally very conservative, but with sudden flashes of independence and a willingness to work with the liberal justices. If I update this post in the future, perhaps I'll have more of an idea. 

While I'm dumping on the conservative wing of the court, are the three liberal justices guilty of any of the Seven Deadly Sins? Not to the same extent as Thomas, Alito, Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch, although I think that anyone who reaches a seat on the Supreme Court is at the very least probably guilty from time to time of the sin of pride.

And in less than a week, the Court must contend with a new president who embodies all seven of the deadly sins. This is not likely to turn out well.

Have a good day, and try to avoid the Seven Deadly Sins.

Believe me, I know it's hard.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Actual Christian, not Republican Christian.

** And who is the poster child for vainglory?