It’s Boring

My son John (age 17) often tells me that one of his teachers, classes, or activities is boring. Sometimes he just smiles and says, “I’m bored.” Hence, I read with special interest the late Susan Sonntag’s suggestion that pain and boredom are the twin evils of modern life. (See As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh, a collection of Sonntag’s journal and notebook writings.)

Sonntag of course acknowledged variations, but she thought pain was concentrated among the poor while boredom tended to plague the middle and upper classes. Law students, law professors, lawyers, and judges surely count among the haves rather than the have-nots.

Nothing is inherently boring, and boredom is personal and subjective. It derives, Sonntag thought, largely from a loss of attention. When we cannot pay attention, we become bored.

If you think a class, a client, or a work task is boring, try changing your frame of attention or perhaps combining two or three frames of attention. Try to think differently about whatever it is you’re thinking about. It might relieve the boredom, but, then again, maybe this advice is boring.

 

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In Praise of Flip-Floppers (Part III)

In my last two posts I scrutinized the tendency for voters, the media, and politicians to use flip-flopper critiques indiscriminately. Common usage is indiscriminate in part because it seems to accept without question that position changes by candidates are always a result of pandering, when in fact other, justifiable reasons may be the cause in any given case. Common usage is also indiscriminate because it denounces position changes by candidates for office without paying attention to how the constitutional features of the office influence the validity of the changes.

Given these defects, why does the flip-flopper critique remain so common? I have a few guesses:

First, perhaps voters and the media use the critique in an attempt to simplify the candidate selection process. Position changes complicate candidate identities, and complexity makes it harder to brand and distinguish candidates. By discouraging position changes, the critique facilitates voter choice.

Second, perhaps voters use the critique because they know that electoral mandates are difficult to enforce intra-term. If a candidate elected on one platform changes her position on a matter once in office, it is always possible for the electorate to vote her out upon the expiration of the term. But there is little that can be done until then. And in the meantime the official may work to create laws that reflect her new, unpopular position. Maybe voters scrutinize candidates for position changes to reduce the risk of this scenario. The flip-flopper critique, in other words, fulfills a vetting function, weeding out those candidates who are most likely to change positions in an unforeseeable manner.

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Low Profile Cases Show Supreme Court at Its Best, Justice Kagan Tells Students

Look to United States Supreme Court cases that don’t make front-page news if you want to see the workings and qualities of the court at its best, Justice Elena Kagan suggested in a session with more than 225 Marquette Law School students Tuesday.

Asked by a student to provide reasons to have faith in a divided court that often votes predictably, Kagan said, “I think you should have that faith.” She called the court “an inspiring institution” whose members struggle conscientiously with difficult issues.

Kagan, who joined the court in 2010, visited the Law School to take part in judging the annual Jenkins Honors Moot Court Competition for students. She also took part in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” conversation for an hour, answering questions from Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy, and from students.

Kagan, of course, did not discuss pending matters before the Court, but, in a wide-ranging and informal conversation, she discussed the way the Court works, her perspective as a woman lawyer, her personal background, and other matters.

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