--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago…" description: "\"Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago were right whereas 5 men looking the other direction today are wrong.\" — Harry A. Blackmun" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg" --- # Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago were right whereas 5… ![“Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago were right whereas 5 men looking the other direction today are wrong.” quote by Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg) > “Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago were right whereas 5 men looking the other direction today are wrong.” [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judgments can be wrong; perspectives shift over time, making past consensus uncertain. **In simple terms:** Past decisions may be wrong as views change. Key Takeaway Question assumptions over time. Themes law history perspective Mood critical thoughtful Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - judicial review - ethical debate - policy making Key Concepts changing norms legal reinterpretation Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance tradition with progress? - When should past rulings be overturned? A Different Perspective Legal stability may suffer from constant re‑evaluation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-looking-2501133/) [Right Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-men-423335/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-wrong-2501134/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [Men are always looking for what's better and women are just looking for what works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-wein/men-are-always-looking-for-what-s-better-and-women-are-just-looking/) [Daryl Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-wein/) > [Yesterday, I thought I loved you as much as any one person could love another. Today, I found out that I was wrong and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/yesterday-i-thought-i-loved-you-as-much-as-any-one-person-could-love/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The tennis world is constantly changing. What's true today may be wrong tomorrow. If you don't make progress, others will and you will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mouratoglou/the-tennis-world-is-constantly-changing-what-s-true-today-may-be/) [Patrick Mouratoglou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mouratoglou/) > [Just not myself today. What is wrong with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-xd/just-not-myself-today-what-is-wrong-with-me/) [Me XD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/me-xd/) > [“A great many of the Army officers were very fine in the way that they took care of their men. But there were certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/a-great-many-of-the-army-officers-were-very-fine-in-the-way-that-they/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Still, who could say what men ever were looking for? They looked for what they found; they knew what pleased them only when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/still-who-could-say-what-men-ever-were-looking-for-they-looked-for/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [To God all things are fair and good and right, but men hold some things wrong and some right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/to-god-all-things-are-fair-and-good-and-right-but-men-hold-some/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [If it is right for men to fight for their freedom, and God knows what the human race would be like today if men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmeline-pankhurst/if-it-is-right-for-men-to-fight-for-their-freedom-and-god-knows-what/) [Emmeline Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmeline-pankhurst/) > [“It could give you some tough moments, your word. Could force you into places you didn't want to be, could serve you up puzzles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/it-could-give-you-some-tough-moments-your-word-could-force-you-into/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Other men look up and down, left and right; but men like us are different. We are visionaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/other-men-look-up-and-down-left-and-right-but-men-like-us-are/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [“By what right do men exercise power over each other?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auberon-herbert/by-what-right-do-men-exercise-power-over-each-other/) [Auberon Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auberon-herbert/) > [If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. Men will believe what they see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-you-would-convince-a-man-that-he-does-wrong-do-right-men-will/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Democracy is not a tearing down; it is a building up. It does not denial of the divine right of kings; it asserts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/democracy-is-not-a-tearing-down-it-is-a-building-up-it-does-not/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Equality of possessions is no doubt right, but, as men could not make might obey right, they have made right obey might.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/equality-of-possessions-is-no-doubt-right-but-as-men-could-not-make/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“Still, it is the primary right of men to die and kill for the land they live in, and to punish with exceptional severity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-s-churchill/still-it-is-the-primary-right-of-men-to-die-and-kill-for-the-land/) [Winston S. Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-s-churchill/) ## More by Harry A. Blackmun > [If there is any truth to the old proverb that "one who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client," the Court…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/if-there-is-any-truth-to-the-old-proverb-that-one-who-is-his-own/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [The states are not free, under the guise of protecting maternal health or potential life, to intimidate women into continuing pregnancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/the-states-are-not-free-under-the-guise-of-protecting-maternal-health/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [The death penalty experiment has failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/the-death-penalty-experiment-has-failed/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [ The mandated description of fetal characteristics at two-week intervals, no matter how objective, is plainly overinclusive. \[It is\] not medical information that is always… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/the-mandated-description-of-fetal-characteristics-at-two-week/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [I hope you will be yourself, human, even a little sentimental, possessed of a sense of humor and a sense of humility. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/i-hope-you-will-be-yourself-human-even-a-little-sentimental-possessed/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [This Court repeatedly has recognized that the whole subject of the domestic relations of husband and wife belongs to the laws of the States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/this-court-repeatedly-has-recognized-that-the-whole-subject-of-the/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [We're all eccentrics. We're nine prima donnas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/we-re-all-eccentrics-we-re-nine-prima-donnas/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [By placing discretion in the hands of an official to grant or deny a license, such a statute creates a threat of censorship that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/by-placing-discretion-in-the-hands-of-an-official-to-grant-or-deny-a/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/from-this-day-forward-i-no-longer-shall-tinker-with-the-machinery-of/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/i-no-longer-shall-tinker-with-the-machinery-of-death/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/in-order-to-get-beyond-racism-we-must-first-take-account-of-race/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [Of one thing, however, I am certain. Just as an execution without adequate safeguards is unacceptable, so too is an execution when the condemned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/of-one-thing-however-i-am-certain-just-as-an-execution-without/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [Disapproval of homosexuality cannot justify invading the houses, hearts and minds of citizens who choose to live their lives differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/disapproval-of-homosexuality-cannot-justify-invading-the-houses/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [Abortion raises moral and spiritual questions over which honorable persons can disagree sincerely and profoundly. But those disagreements did not then and do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/abortion-raises-moral-and-spiritual-questions-over-which-honorable/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death. ... I fell morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/from-this-day-forward-i-no-longer-shall-tinker-with-the-machinery-of-2/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) [Explore all 32 Harry A. Blackmun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) ## More Alaska quotes > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Grief is like an ocean. It comes in waves - some waves are bigger than others and you cannot prepare for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-lane/grief-is-like-an-ocean-it-comes-in-waves-some-waves-are-bigger-than/) [Summer Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-lane/) > [There's no doubt 'normal' is changing - spring actually came a month early in Alaska, for example, and we had to stop filming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-rice/there-s-no-doubt-normal-is-changing-spring-actually-came-a-month/) [Travis Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-rice/) > [Kids in Alaska don't know they're growing up on the Last Frontier. It's just what they see on the license plates, and it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/kids-in-alaska-don-t-know-they-re-growing-up-on-the-last-frontier-it/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/what-the-hell-is-instant-nothing-is-instant/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/they-re-our-next-door-neighbors-and-you-can-actually-see-russia-from/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [If the world were an orange with 18 segments meeting at the top (the North Pole), roughly 8 of them would be in Russia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/if-the-world-were-an-orange-with-18-segments-meeting-at-the-top-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [And I just got the ghost, and I'm calling it Casper but that is so cold, it belong in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/and-i-just-got-the-ghost-and-i-m-calling-it-casper-but-that-is-so/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [Like any traveler, I'm always looking for those experiences that are almost unique to any place, and watching films around Alaska of the skies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/like-any-traveler-i-m-always-looking-for-those-experiences-that-are/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/a-changing-environment-will-affect-alaska-more-than-any-other-state/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Mitt Romney understands the importance of Alaska as a leader in our country's energy production and I look forward to working with him on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/mitt-romney-understands-the-importance-of-alaska-as-a-leader-in-our/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [Why would even I say we can't stop drilling in the Gulf? Because we have no alternatives. Whether or not we drill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/why-would-even-i-say-we-can-t-stop-drilling-in-the-gulf-because-we/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [“The canopy of trees overhead is so thick that only bits and pieces of blue sky can be seen overhead. Narrow rays of sunshine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-g-foster/the-canopy-of-trees-overhead-is-so-thick-that-only-bits-and-pieces-of/) [Vanessa G. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-g-foster/) > [Let's make a deal: You figure out what the labyrinth is and how to get out of it, and i'll get you laid. -Alaska…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/let-s-make-a-deal-you-figure-out-what-the-labyrinth-is-and-how-to-get/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Browse all 320 Alaska quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago were right whereas 5 men looking the other direction today are wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harry A. Blackmun" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-were-right-whereas-5-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alaska" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-were-right-whereas-5-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/harry-a-blackmun-19399_alaska_who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-we_2670732.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Who is to say that 5 men 10 years ago were right whereas 5 men looking the other direction today are wrong.” — Harry A. Blackmun", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harry A. Blackmun", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Who is to say that 5...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-were-right-whereas-5-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/who-is-to-say-that-5-men-10-years-ago-were-right-whereas-5-men/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```