I am just back from a lecture given by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at LSE. Strange to think that the only lecture I have attended so far at LSE is one by an American. Much of the audience was American and simply showed up to see what Scalia would talk about. His speech, although I forget the title now, discussed Scalia's well-known criticism of the Constitution as a living document as well as his disapproval of the role of the Supreme Court as moral arbiters.

He made the audience laugh with some good quotes:

-In response to a question on limiting the power of the state with some reference to the Nuremberg Trials, he said, "Hitler made a fine automobile."

-In reference to the overturning of sodomy laws (I forget where he was referring to specifically), he said he is willing to "accept that homosexual orgies eliminate social tension and ought to be encouraged." Irony, of course.

-I forget the specific quote exactly, but it's referenced in wikipedia. In reference to his criticism of the "Living Constitution, he says he's "skeptical that societies always 'mature,' as opposed to rot." That the Constitution was written and defined so that future societies couldn't do whatever they want.

-He also criticizes the politicizing of the process of nominating new Justices. Every nomination "is like a mini-constitutional convention." "It's crazy," he said.

-Oh, and on the topic of the profile of the next judge to be nominated, he said "Probably a woman. A Hispanic woman... that's Protestant." Haha.

As his speech progressed, I became increasingly uneasy about the future of law in the U.S. I don't know why exactly. Scalia is undoubtedly intelligent, witty, and sharp-tongued. I would not want to be on the receiving end, as some students were during the Q&A, of his criticism. The U.S. is in, if not safe hands (for some minorities), capable hands. But knowing his opinions on hot topics like abortion and same-sex marriage, although he didn't explicitly express them, is worrisome to me. To Scalia, that society (or at least parts) wants these to be legal is a sign of "rotting" than "maturing." True, Scalia is not final say on these issues, but it just struck a chord with me.

I think I need to be more politically active. I'm not apathetic by any means, but I feel like more is at stake than I first thought. How in jeopardy is Roe v. Wade right now? With aging Supreme Court Justices and the possibility of a conservative present appointing conservatively minded judges, it's certainly not in the clear. I don't know. I don't think about these things often enough, I suppose, and thinking of them now, I'm just a little worried. Lots of laws seem to be very abstract for people. They can get worked up about them but at the end of the day, they are unaffected by the ultimate consequences. It's easy to be that way, but fortunately or unfortunately, the issue of abortion is relevant to all women.

Anyways, some more uplifting stories to come at some time in the future when uplifting things occur.

I didn't mention that I traveled to Stone Henge/Salisbury on Sunday. It was my first real journey outside of London and the 2-hour train ride there revealed some British countryside that reminded me a little of the American Midwest with a few more hills.

So... Stone Henge. Some people claim to be disappointed by it, but it was very near to what I expected. Located in the Salisbury plain, it was pretty damn cold and windy. Sheep were chilling out nearby but kept away from the Stone Henge area by a not so inconspicuous electric fence. The road is right next to Stone Henge too. I must say, the 20-minute bus ride there gave me a newfound appreciation for London buses. Sitting on the top-deck of the bus, it felt more like I was rocking in a boat.

I tried my best to listen to the free audio tour guide thing, but my fingers were freezing as I held it to my ear. My Stone Henge travel pals, Gabor from work and his fellow Hungarian friend, relied on me for listening to the important bits and relaying the information. I won't go into what I learned, because that would be (more) boring... but it was a good time and I'm glad I went. In the gift shop, I flipped through some photography books of Stone Henge from 1900-present and was kind of shocked to see the vandalism that persisted at Stone Henge until the '70s. People put tables and chairs on the lintels and drank up there. They chipped bits of rock away for a souvenir. And they wrote on the actual stones. So... needless to say, visitors are kept a safe distance away. Good.

We also ventured into Salisbury itself, home to Salisbury Cathedral which boasts a.) the tallest church spire in the UK; b.) the largest cloister and largest Cathedral Close in Britain; c.) the world's oldest working clock from 1386; and d.) the best preserved of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta (we unfortunately got there 5 minutes too late to glimpse it). Who would've thought...

It was cool to travel with Hungarians and ask them about their country/history. They kind of laughed about it and all the arbitrary borders for Hungary and neighboring countries which are home to many Hungarians also. It's also a feat to overcome mistranslations, as they speak "British." They're what I would call fluent, but things still go awry with accents, pronunciations, and American/British colloquialisms. Anyways... that's a wrap.