Scalia, Ginsburg and the Virtue of Tolerance

In the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing we are, of course, hearing lots of nice things about him. This is good and proper. One of the qualities I am reading and hearing about most frequently is his ability to get along well with people with whom he disagreed on matters of politics and jurisprudence. For example, he had a fairly close friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Justice Scalia and Justice Ginsburg had very different political points of view and significant disagreements regarding rulings of the court. However, they were friends and their families even spent social time together.

When I read about this willingness to disagree regarding these types of issues and yet remain friends I find myself thinking: It’s too bad this is such a difficult reality. It’s too bad this quality is so rare that it consistently merits a special mention.

Many people and various organizations and sources of influence speak of the great value of tolerance in our culture. It is lauded as an incredibly important virtue. Tolerance is the quality—even if the specific word is not used—which is being spoken of in such admirable ways in Justice Scalia’s life.

So many people seem to recognize this value. It would be even more wonderful if lots of us would incorporate it into our lives.