Dignity is the personal ability to demand respect, even when that demand is ignored. I don't care how you feel about Justice Thomas's politics or jurisprudence, he has dignity. Read his autobiography. I just finished it, and it is one of the best biographies I've ever read. Maybe even the best.
I only have one comment. During Justice Alito's confirmation hearings, I was struck by his background more than anything else. Where else but in America could an immigrant's son find his way onto the highest court in the land? After reading My Grandfather's Son, I ask again--where else but in America could a black child reared in the depths of poverty in the Jim Crow South find a seat on our Supreme Court? There may be silver-spoon babies in the Capitol or the White House, but there are surprisingly few at One First Street, NE.
To tell you the truth, I am shamed.
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