Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas cautioned like-minded Americans against becoming despondent about the state of conservatism.
Near the occasion of his 25th anniversary on the court, Thomas sat for an interview with The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and urged those sympathetic to his world view to keep the faith. The Standard and the Washington Examiner share a common owner.
Asked about the future of constitutional self-government in the United States, Thomas drew upon his Catholic faith to argue that Americans ought not despair.
“You are obligated not to despair,” Thomas said. “Now about our country, yeah things may not look good. But we are obligated not to despair.”
“Do I know what the outcome is going to be? No,” he said. “Do I know that we’re going to be vindicated? No. But that’s not why you do it. You don’t do it to necessarily persuade, to feel that you’re going to persuade other people, you do it because it’s right.”
Thomas talked about the tumultuous state of affairs when he arrived in Washington circa 1979 — the Iranian hostage crisis and high inflation — and noted the world is always changing and providing cause for concern. He also spoke about his reflections of life on the court and how he has applied his brand of originalist jurisprudence during the previous 25 years.
