--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Justice Jefferson has a blind spot on…" description: "\"Justice Jefferson has a blind spot on race. You know, more than a blind spot. A terrible blemish on his legacy, slavery, for which he's properly excori..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/jeffrey-rosen-13180_blind_justice-jefferson-has-a-blind-spot-on-ra_2417525.jpg" --- # Justice Jefferson has a blind spot on race. You know, more… ![“Justice Jefferson has a blind spot on race. You know, more than a blind spot. A terrible blemish on his legacy, slavery, for which he's properly excoriated. So, I think [Louis] Brandeis has done this as well.” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/jeffrey-rosen-13180_blind_justice-jefferson-has-a-blind-spot-on-ra_2417525.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/jeffrey-rosen-13180_blind_justice-jefferson-has-a-blind-spot-on-ra_2417525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/jeffrey-rosen-13180_blind_justice-jefferson-has-a-blind-spot-on-ra_2417525.jpg) > “Justice Jefferson has a blind spot on race. You know, more than a blind spot. A terrible blemish on his legacy, slavery, for which he's properly excoriated. So, I think \[Louis\] Brandeis has done this as well.” [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jeffrey Rosen highlights Jefferson’s contradictory legacy: champion of liberty yet complicit in slavery. **In simple terms:** Jefferson’s legacy is flawed by racism. Key Takeaway Acknowledge historical contradictions. Themes history race justice Mood critical analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - public discourse Key Concepts legacy morality political theory Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile ideals with actions? - What lessons can we draw for today? A Different Perspective Complex legacies can be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Blind spots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-spots/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy/) [Louis brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/louis-brandeis/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The brain "fills in" the missing information from the blind spot. Notice what you see in the location of the dot when it's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-brain-fills-in-the-missing-information-from-the-blind-spot-notice/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Because your brain uses information from the areas around the blind spot to make a reasonable guess about what the blind spot would see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/because-your-brain-uses-information-from-the-areas-around-the-blind/) [Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/) > [We all have a blind spot and it's shaped exactly like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/we-all-have-a-blind-spot-and-it-s-shaped-exactly-like-us/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [For me, on every project, I realize that I've boxed myself into a corner, or that the play necessitates some sort of theatrical convention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/for-me-on-every-project-i-realize-that-i-ve-boxed-myself-into-a/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [Religion has become the blind spot of American journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-patrick-miller/religion-has-become-the-blind-spot-of-american-journalism/) [D. Patrick Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-patrick-miller/) > [Seeing-is-believing is a blind spot in man's vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/seeing-is-believing-is-a-blind-spot-in-man-s-vision/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [ \[Louis\] Brandeis had a very distinctive vision of political economy that he persuaded Woodrow Wilson to adopt in the 1912 election and that he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-had-a-very-distinctive-vision-of-political-economy/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ For \[Louis\] Brandeis, you know, ethnicity and background are much less important than facts and reason. And he believes that far from wanting to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/for-louis-brandeis-you-know-ethnicity-and-background-are-much-less/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ \[Louis Brandeis\] at the age of 57 decided to become the head of the American Zionist movement was more influential than anyone else in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-at-the-age-of-57-decided-to-become-the-head-of-the/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ It's unfortunate that \[Louis\] Brandeis was not able to translate or abstract his devotion to cultural pluralism and racial equality as he put it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/it-s-unfortunate-that-louis-brandeis-was-not-able-to-translate-or/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [Why I find Louis Brandeis so exciting and inspiring because he's teaching us - good legal writing is not a matter of taste, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/why-i-find-louis-brandeis-so-exciting-and-inspiring-because-he-s/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ They said, OK, nine \[Louis\] Brandeis's is too much, but one is OK. So, with friends like that, and so forth. But, yes, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/they-said-ok-nine-louis-brandeis-s-is-too-much-but-one-is-ok-so-with/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [Louis Brandeis started off by embracing the Theodore Roosevelt notion that hyphenated Americanism was unpatriotic. You couldn't have dual loyalties. But then he thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-started-off-by-embracing-the-theodore-roosevelt-notion/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ Louis Brandeis really inspired me to write this book \[Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet\]. It was a crazy deadline. The editor said I'd miss… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-really-inspired-me-to-write-this-book-louis-d-brandeis/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) ## More by Jeffrey Rosen > [Privacy is not for the passive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/privacy-is-not-for-the-passive/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ Louis Brandeis really inspired me to write this book \[Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet\]. It was a crazy deadline. The editor said I'd miss… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-really-inspired-me-to-write-this-book-louis-d-brandeis/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ He's \[Louis Brandais\] so suspicious of bigness in government as well as business that he mistrusts even really top-down reforms at the state level.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/he-s-louis-brandais-so-suspicious-of-bigness-in-government-as-well-as/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [Louis Brandeis started off by embracing the Theodore Roosevelt notion that hyphenated Americanism was unpatriotic. You couldn't have dual loyalties. But then he thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-started-off-by-embracing-the-theodore-roosevelt-notion/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [It can sound trite if you just say citizens need to be educated for democracy to work, but for him it wasn't trite. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/it-can-sound-trite-if-you-just-say-citizens-need-to-be-educated-for/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ They said, OK, nine \[Louis\] Brandeis's is too much, but one is OK. So, with friends like that, and so forth. But, yes, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/they-said-ok-nine-louis-brandeis-s-is-too-much-but-one-is-ok-so-with/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [Why I find Louis Brandeis so exciting and inspiring because he's teaching us - good legal writing is not a matter of taste, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/why-i-find-louis-brandeis-so-exciting-and-inspiring-because-he-s/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ Basically \[Louise\] Brandeis was a Jeffersonian. And you say the timing is great, and it is in a lot of senses, except not for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/basically-louise-brandeis-was-a-jeffersonian-and-you-say-the-timing/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ It's unfortunate that \[Louis\] Brandeis was not able to translate or abstract his devotion to cultural pluralism and racial equality as he put it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/it-s-unfortunate-that-louis-brandeis-was-not-able-to-translate-or/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ \[Louis Brandeis\] at the age of 57 decided to become the head of the American Zionist movement was more influential than anyone else in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-at-the-age-of-57-decided-to-become-the-head-of-the/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ For \[Louis\] Brandeis, you know, ethnicity and background are much less important than facts and reason. And he believes that far from wanting to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/for-louis-brandeis-you-know-ethnicity-and-background-are-much-less/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ \[Louis\] Brandeis had a very distinctive vision of political economy that he persuaded Woodrow Wilson to adopt in the 1912 election and that he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/louis-brandeis-had-a-very-distinctive-vision-of-political-economy/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ What is so inspiring about \[Louis\] Brandeis's writing is he saw it as a tool for democratic education. He would say things like the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/what-is-so-inspiring-about-louis-brandeis-s-writing-is-he-saw-it-as-a/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [ \[Oliver Wendell\] Holmes never believed in the truth and morality of the laws he was upholding. 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