Justice Marshall’s Retirement

We are the result of our experience, and Thurgood Marshall has proven to be no exception. Victimized by discrimination and hatred, he rose above it to become an advocate of equality and justice, not for a select group but for all of us. His retirement does not reflect the end of an era, for that era ended some time ago. His voice was one of the last that sought to end institutionalized discrimination and he did so by bringing the full weight of the Constitution to bear on those practices that ultimately damage each of us.

The tone in America today is that enough has been done to end discrimination, and that government mustn’t go too far in interfering in the private sector. That, of course, is patently idiotic. Virtually everyone in this country has lined up to feed at the government trough. We have come to demand levels of government interference in every aspect of our lives. If we’re going to insist on such levels of federal omnipotence, how nice it would be if it could be done with the sense of decency and integrity that Marshall has shown throughout his more than five decades of dedicated effort.

When I was in my salad days, men like Marshall made me want to take up the law. When I realized that there are so few like him, I chose another career path. For the first time in more than 20 years I regret that choice.

DONALD J. HUNT

Simi Valley