The Supremes Break the Social Contract

I am barely old enough to have started public school (in Delaware, a so-called border state) when there still were separate white and black schools, the former invariably adequate if not luxe and the latter invariably ramshackle in bricks, mortar and educational opportunity.

It is therefore nothing short of shocking to read that a Supreme Court which in 1954 crafted the Brown v. Board of Education decision today broke faith with that landmark ruling outlawing segregation in schools in asserting that desegregation plans in Seattle and Louisville viewed race in terms that were literally too black and white.

While the ruling does not end school desegregation per se, it breaks perhaps the most important social contract of my lifetime. The implications of that are nothing short of shocking -- and profound.

George Bush promised his core constituents a Supreme Court that would return America to the bad old days. With this and other rulings this week, he finally has delivered on a promise.

More here. And a media and blog reaction roundup here.