Professorial dogmas and the future of civic discourse

The passing of Justice Scalia has prompted fitting encomia from the usual courageous stalwarts, predictable political squabbling from the usual squabblers, and cynical posturing from the usual cynics. All very appropriate to the role each of those people plays. But it has also exposed something that strikes me as dark and disconcerting.

Words I have seen associated with Antonin Scalia in the last three days: "bigot," "bigotry," "oppression," "hate," "hateful," "evil," "unjust," and "intolerance." Those all came from professors, scholars of law and subjects related to law whose job it is to seek knowledge of law and legal institutions. And they were written in open letters, blogs, op-eds, and social media postings for their students and the rest of the world to see.