"You Can Either Live For A Cause or You Can Live Just Because"

So much seems to be happening right now.

The world is in fact changing before our very eyes.

Late last night (9-3-05) it was announced that William Rehnqusit, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States succumbed to thyroid cancer. The Chief Justice had been battling the disease since last year. The Chief should be mourned just like every other person who dies.

Oftentimes it seems we pay more attention to those in positions of power and prestige, but we should mourn all people, because we never know the potential we lost, we can never know just how much that person meant to another. Too often it seems we try to judge the lives of others, and equate it with greater or lesser value. The truth is all life is valuable and all life is precious. I always remember this one quote that I heard from Tavis Smiley one day, "You can either live for a cause or you can live just because." I hope that most people out there find something, they find someone they believe in, and they live for that cause.

Chief Justice Rehnquist found both his cause and his calling, and his cause and calling was the law. He used his impressive educational credentials, his life experiences, and his beliefs to help shape the legal fabric of this country. While some may not agree with his politics we should respect the fact that he found his cause and his calling, and he devoted himself to interpreting the laws of this land as best he could.

His death will leave a void in an important place, and that place is the Supreme Court. I still don't think people realize the importance of the nine men and women who serve on the high court. The decisions that those justices make do impact our nation. They are in effect some of the most powerful people in the world. While we all like to think that our prerogatives matter, their prerogatives generally last for decades.

I'll let the world in on a little secret. I once aspired to sit on the high court. From the time I was 10 until I was 17 I idolized Thurgood Marshall, and wanted to follow in the footsteps of my fellow Baltimore native, but then I fell in love with the news. I still love the law, find the study of the law interesting, find the judicial branch of government fascinating, and still believe the job of jurists to be among the world's most important.

Where else could I get a job which would be guaranteed for much of my natural life?

The high court is out there, maybe I'll cover it one day, or who knows maybe I'll end up there after all.