Supreme Court Justice Initiates A National Civics Lesson

By Mark Walsh

Washington

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy journeyed from the court's marble halls last week to a classroom in a public high school here, where he led students in an unusual discussion about democratic values in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Justice Kennedy had let it be known that he was troubled by some of the reactions of young people both here and abroad to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In general, young people appeared to lack sufficient moral outrage, the justice had told reporters, and failed to display an understanding of American ideals such as democracy and freedom.

So working with the American Bar Association, he conceived a program called Dialogue on Freedom, which includes class lessons and a discussion scenario involving an imaginary country where...