‘Democracy Is At Risk’: Retired SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy Expresses Grave Concerns Over ‘Tone Of Our Political Discourse’

He went on to say that we need to better protect our judges. The post ‘Democracy Is At Risk’: Retired SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy Expresses Grave Concerns Over ‘Tone Of Our Political Discourse’ appeared first on Above the Law.

Jun 27, 2025 - 23:35
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‘Democracy Is At Risk’: Retired SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy Expresses Grave Concerns Over ‘Tone Of Our Political Discourse’

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

We should be concerned in this country about the tone of our political discourse [and] identity politics that are used so that a person is characterized by his or her partisan affiliation.

That’s not what democracy and civil discourse is about. What democracy and civil discourse are about are taking issues and discussing them. And this is what judges do, and this is why judges are of central importance.

Many in the world look to the United States to see what democracy is, to see what democracy ought to be. If they see a hostile, fractious discourse, if they see a discourse that uses identity politics, rather than to talk about issues, democracy is at risk. Freedom is at risk.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in comments given during a virtual forum held by Speak Up for Justice and noted by Law.com, where he spoke on the importance of civic education, calling for political rhetoric in the U.S. to be toned down for the sake of our democracy and the safety of our judges.


Staci Zaretsky

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on BlueskyX/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

The post ‘Democracy Is At Risk’: Retired SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy Expresses Grave Concerns Over ‘Tone Of Our Political Discourse’ appeared first on Above the Law.