Scalia's Dead: Good

Scalia’s Dead: Good

P. Schultz

            Why I am not at all sad that Antonin Scalia is dead may be summed up concisely: He was one of the mainstays of our ruling oligarchy and, hence, is partly responsible for the ills we are experiencing.

            It is because of our oligarchy that we have a militaristic, war-like, imperialistic foreign policy. It is because of our oligarchy that racism flourishes under the guise of “dog whistle politics,” while sexism is covered over by claims of creating a “meritocracy.” It is because of our oligarchy that vast sums of money are wasted on needless military weaponry, and the lives and bodies and minds of American soldiers are wasted in unnecessary wars. It because of our oligarchy that our schools are little more than training grounds for “consumers” and “workers,” producing, via standardized testing, standardized students.

            These ills - and more - we are experiencing are the products, the intended products of the oligarchy that controls our politics and Scalia was, proudly and uncompromisingly, a part of that oligarchy, helping to create and maintain it, while pretending to uphold the republican order the Constitution seeks to establish for “ourselves and our posterity.” Thus, I say, “Good, Scalia’s dead.”  And may it be true that “die Todten reiten schnell.”