December 18, 2005
A Lesson Not Lost on Alito
By Ruben
Navarrette Jr.
SAN DIEGO
-- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Jr. has a top-notch resume
that suggests an interesting life. So I was intrigued when I read
an article that mentioned how Judge Alito had said that he's convinced
that the life story of his immigrant father -- who died in the
mid-1980s -- is, hands down, much more interesting.
I can see
why. The elder Alito was born in Italy and brought to this country
as a toddler by his parents. Despite having to learn English,
he excelled in school, graduating from college and then earning
a master's degree from Rutgers University. The Los Angeles
Times reports that his wife once told a neighbor that Sam
Sr. would copy by hand the contents of textbooks he couldn't afford
to buy.
The elder
Alito taught public school before taking a job with the New Jersey
Office of Legislative Services, which provides research and advice
to the New Jersey Legislature. He eventually became director of
the office, where he earned a reputation for, as the Times
put it, his ``penetrating mind and exemplary work.'' Because of
his knowledge and objectivity, he was called as an expert witness
in a court case challenging the state's redistricting system.
About all this, Sam Jr. is very proud. As he makes the rounds
visiting senators, the nominee refers often to his father and
the lessons he learned from him. It's clear that the son -- who
went to Princeton and Yale Law School before becoming an assistant
U.S. attorney, an assistant solicitor general and a federal appellate
judge -- considers the father a role model.
I like the
nominee already. Which is not to say that I think Alito would
make a good justice. I need to see his confirmation hearings before
I can decide that. I'm concerned about the fact that Alito, as
a judge of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, so often seems
to side with police and prosecutors in criminal cases. In light
of the 9/11 attacks, it's never been more important that defendants
get a fair shake and due process. And if the folks in the black
robes don't make sure that happens, no one will.
Still, it
speaks well of such an accomplished individual that he can look
back on the experience of someone who came before him and feel
humbled.
I know the
feeling, and so do some of my readers.
During a
recent television interview, I mentioned that I've always been
secretly grateful that I don't have to compete for jobs with either
of my now- deceased grandfathers.
I've had
a good education, and I'm not afraid of hard work. Still, I know
that -- if it just came down to work ethic alone -- I'd be no
match for them.
As a second-generation American, there are jobs I wouldn't do
and wages I flat wouldn't accept. My grandfathers happily did
any kind of work for whatever wages the jobs paid.
After the
interview aired, I got a note from a reader who was struck by
the line about competing with my grandfathers. That's how it was
with him and his father, he said. His master's degree was no match
for the stamina his father showed as he worked long hours in a
steel mill.
The exchange
reminded me of another. About 10 years ago, while I was living
in my native Central California, I wrote a column in which I talked
about how -- while I'm the one who had the educational opportunities
-- it was my grandfathers who seemed to have the innate wisdom.
A few days
after it ran, a local television personality came up to me and
thanked me for the column. He knew exactly what I meant, he said.
His father had migrated from Greece, and, he said, the migrant
had a better grasp on most things than his college-educated children.
In America,
it is assumed that each generation will be more successful than
the one that came before it. But here's the rub: Real success
isn't just about pressing forward. It's also about knowing how
to look back with respect and admiration, and maybe even a bit
of awe.
That's a
lesson not lost on the son of an Italian immigrant seeking a seat
on the nation's highest court.
©
2005, The San Diego Union-Tribune
