Lopez: Justice Coney Barrett is not a DEI hire

"Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee." These days, political parody is next to impossible, because politics is so absurd. Case in point: The above quote is from a post from someone on the right side of the political spectrum. Barrett had just weighed in on the wrong side of a Supreme Court decision, according to this non-lawyer. That was far from the only social media backlash that came Barrett's way. This one just had the classlessness to use a photo of Barrett's family – including her two adopted children from Haiti – as supposed evidence of the "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion" point. Presumably, Barrett being a woman might be another DEI box-check. Considering Barrett has shown a commitment to excellence in her profession, that does suggest a little misogyny. Is that what unites us now?

When Barrett was first nominated for the Court in the first Trump administration, she was portrayed as a character from the dystopian "Handmaid's Tale." For some on the left, she was a dreaded Catholic, led by the patriarchal clergy, who sought to live her faith in all aspects of her life.

Barrett took the seat left vacant by Ruth Bader Ginsburg when RBG died in September 2020. Presumably people on the right who now regard her as "a big problem" and disappointment believe that President Trump replaced a woman with a woman to make women happy. Yes, that President Trump, who clearly doesn't care for convention, tradition and expected formalities.

In a sane world, Justice Barrett would be universally heralded as a role model, especially for young women. The we-girls-can-do-anything-and-everything mantras of Mattel and feminism seem to have a success story in Barrett. Wife, mom, Supreme Court clerk, professor. She's brilliant. She makes time for prayer and civil society. People who have spent time around her will testify that she's down-to-earth and approachable.

I disagreed with Justice Ginsburg's politics, but she was an impressive historic figure. She had a strong marriage, as well as a famous friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, with whom she shared a love of opera, and who Barrett once clerked for on the Court. They are people who show us that there is more to life than the three branches of government!

Ginsburg even commented in one of her opinions that legal abortion under Roe v. Wade had created a cultural expectation for women to have abortions. She was a supporter of abortion, but could be honest about unintended consequences.

When it comes to criticism of Barrett when she doesn't rule the way right-wing zealots might desire, it exposes thinly held commitments to the Constitution.

I, for one, wanted Barrett on the court during the first Trump term, because she was an excellent pick, and, yes, because she happens to be an attractive example of lived Christianity in the world. But I'm not a lawyer, and I don't expect she will decide everything the way my heart desires.

Folks on social media also read things into Justice Barrett's face as the president passed her in the House chamber just before his joint address to Congress for this term. We were told that she expressed disdain. Would that we spend our time on more productive activities than seeing what we want on justices' faces.

The "Handmaid's Tale" nonsense and the DEI smear on Barrett would all just be silly if they weren't examples of politics. There's a nobility to service, and a gratitude we owe to public servants – even when we may disagree with them.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute and editor-at-large of National Review magazine.