There can be no doubt that our Nation has had a long and unfortunate history of sex discrimination. Traditionally, such discrimination was rationalized by an attitude of "romantic paternalism" which, in practical effect, put women, not on a pedestal, but in a cage.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the historical issue of sex discrimination and its detrimental effects on women.
William J. Brennan emphasizes the long-standing presence of sex discrimination in society, highlighting how it has often been justified through a misguided sense of 'romantic paternalism.' This attitude, instead of empowering women, has confined them to restrictive roles, suggesting that while they may be idealized, they are ultimately restrained by societal norms.
In practice
In a discussion about gender equality in the workplace, this quote can emphasize the systemic issues that still need to be addressed.
If our free society is to endure, those who govern must recognize human dignity and accept the enforcement of constitutional limitations on their power conceived by the Framers . . . . Such recognition will not come from a technical understanding of the organs of government, or the new forms of wealth they administer. It requires something different, something deeper-a personal confrontation with the wellsprings of our society.
Law cannot stand aside from the social changes around it.
At bottom, the battle has been waged on moral grounds. The country has debated whether a society for which the dignity of the individual is the supreme value can, without a fundamental inconsistency, follow the practice of deliberately putting one of its members to death.
Use of a mentally ill person's involuntary confession is antithetical to the notion of fundamental fairness embodied in the due process clause.
The Framers of the Bill of Rights did not purport to 'create' rights. Rather, they designed the Bill of Rights to prohibit our Government from infringing rights and liberties presumed to be preexisting.
Congress acknowledged that society's accumulated myths and fears about disability and disease are as handicapping as are the physical limitations that flow from actual impairment.
No one can lie, no one can hide anything, when he looks directly into someone's eyes.
What good am I? I can't have kids. I can't cook. I've been divorced three times. Who would want me?
No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being for whom it can feel trust and reverence.
Saying hello doesn't have an ROI. It's about building relationships.
Yes, gay marriage is about symbolically blessing a relationship, but the larger issue is about transmitting a fundamental message about equality. Gay people should have equality in law everywhere.
What you can do with relations is greater than what you can do with guns.
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