In which I rail on some of my favorite people ever omg, Supreme Court justices.

I was going to figure out something way more shallow and narcissistic to write about and then put this at the end, but it deserves to be first. Today, SCOTUS struck down the death penalty in child rape cases. And it's about damn time, frankly. Not that I, in any way, am coming down in favor of child rapists. I read the story about one of the two convicts that this ruling affects, and it was one of the saddest and most disgusting things I've ever seen. The fact that the children assaulted in these cases lived makes it actually more disturbing, in a weird twisted way.

But the idea that the United States, supposedly one of the most advanced and modern nations in the world, still makes a practice of executing maybe-not-as-innocent-as-previously-assumed people in horrific maybe-not-as-painless-as-previously-assumed ways is just as disgusting. We execute more people than Saudi Arabia. Only China and Iran are ahead of us. China and Iran. One is one the few remaining communist nations left in the world, and one is FREAKING IRAN. It is not a proud day when you realize that you're beating Saudi Arabia in human rights violations.

And it's not going to change- both the presidential candidates support capital punishment. The case today was decided 5-4, really white-knuckling it, and I'm not entirely sure that if it was a case involving a federal case or a murder that Kennedy would sway the same way. Especially because he kind of totally didn't two months ago.

But here's the thing that's really bothers me- every single justice in the minority is Catholic. I consider myself a pretty conservative Catholic (as do all four of the justices in the minority- and believe me, I've checked). My faith is incredibly important to me; since my early teens I've known that it is the single most grounding and important force within my life and that nothing I do on this earth will ever matter as much as that. I've been reading a lot about the Church and theology lately, and not only has it increased and strengthened my faith but it has made me realize that I do believe that it is possible to entertain, at least in theory, questions about the Church and her policies while still "towing the line" and fundamentally supporting it. (Like my views on homosexuality, which usually make my father go, "You've been indoctrinated!!!" and then leave the room. Yeah. It's always a good time.)

Let me first say that I am in favor of the separation of church and state- I really am. At the same time, I know that government, and the Supreme Court in particular, is composed of human beings. And I know that if I were on the Supreme Court (as much as I like to beat on judicial activism) I would not be able to leave this very integral part of me that just screams OMG DON'T KILL PEOPLE SRSLY at the door and be all, "Yep. State's rights."

Anyway, this was just supposed to be a link and a line of commentary, and it became an entire entry that took me an hour to write because I had to look up a bunch of crap (and check Facebook sixteen times...), and reading it again I realize that it's kind of less about the ruling (which I'm in favor of) and more about my general depression regarding the prospects of outlawing it.

I promise tomorrow will be more uplifting. Really!