Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is co-authoring a new book about heroes from the American Revolution to teach children about some of the lesser-known revolutionaries ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday.
In a set of several interviews promoting the book, Gorsuch details the ideas that once were radical in the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago.
The book, also written by author Janie Nitze, tells the stories of “ordinary people willing to do extraordinary things” to earn America’s freedom. It became available to the public for purchase last week.
The associate justice said he knows that Americans will have a lot of fireworks, barbecues and parades this July Fourth, but he hopes people take the time to “reflect on the gift we’ve been given and the challenge we face.”
“The Declaration of Independence had three great ideas in it, that all of us are equal, that each of us has inalienable rights given to us by God, not government, and that we have the right to rule ourselves,” Gorsuch said in an interview with Reason magazine’s Nick Gillespie.
“We’re a creedal nation, and I hope we take a moment to reflect on that, how to recommit ourselves to that,” he said.
“The courage it takes to defend those ideas,” he added. “They were not inevitable and the stories of the men, women and children in the book, I hope, will inspire children to realize the courage it takes to carry those ideas forward in their own.”
Gorsuch was asked about how people point to the “mission statement” or the Declaration of Independence and argue that the “all men are created equal” part contradicts slavery, the Civil Rights Movement and women’s rights.
The justice argued that he doesn’t think the Civil Rights Movement ended in 1965 but rather that the country has experienced a continuous rights movement since its founding. Ahead of the semiquincentennial, Gorsuch noted that very word is Latin and means “halfway to 500.”
“It’s a journey, right? And those ideas are not self-perpetuating. They’re not inevitable. The torch passes to each new generation. You got to grab the baton,” he said.
Gorsuch said he and Nitze were intentional about including a note that the next generation needs to grab that baton.
Evidence shows, however, that younger generations aren’t as enthusiastic about grabbing that baton.
A new survey from the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics conducted by Morning Consult finds younger Americans and Utahns tend to say they won’t celebrate America’s 250th and are less likely to consider themselves patriotic.
Younger Americans are more likely to be “disillusioned” with the extreme political polarization they have grown up in and institutions are not giving them much hope with declining “America-positive” messaging, Matthew Wilson, an associate professor at Southern Methodist University, said.
Gorsuch: Justices can disagree and get along
Just as they do at the Supreme Court, Gorsuch argued that Americans need to talk amicably to one another again, even if there’s disagreements.
Gorsuch, in a separate interview on Fox News Sunday’s Shannon Bream, said he doesn’t agree with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor but he loves her and they “have a good time together disagreeing.”
He detailed his concern for the younger generation and the decline of civic education. Gorsuch said he thinks it is a “big problem” that young Americans aren’t learning about the country’s founding and taking to heart the ideals of democracy the way they once were.
“If you don’t know what they are, the history and the people that made them possible, how can you possibly carry them on?” Gorsuch questioned.