I regularly drive by a house that, from a distance, seems to be displaying an American flag on its porch. Close up, we see the letters F*** Biden conjoined with the stars and stripes. (Recently a car smashed into the other side of the house, causing extensive damage. Geez, maybe the homeowners might consider that their flag creates a distraction for drivers.)

It’s America. One’s home and its surroundings can make many kinds of statements with their decorative choices. In recent weeks we learned that the residences of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito displayed their own statements on important matters of state, namely, the 2020 election that ex-President Trump falsely claims he won, and the country’s foundational separation of church and state. Photos — not challenged by the Alitos — show that their primary and summer homes flew flags also carried by stop-the-steal insurrectionists of January 6 and by Christian nationalists convinced the country is being destroyed by culturally liberal secularists.

A private citizen is free to make public pronouncements even if they’re asinine or crude. Or biased. I confess my own bias: I think Justice Alito is a threat to American constitutional democracy. His exceptional position requires him to rule according to law, not his personal views. His publicly expressed bias profoundly undermines the credibility and legitimacy of the Supreme Court, especially as it is about to rule on cases tied to January 6 and Americans’ individual freedoms. Judicial ethics demand that he recuse himself from deliberations.

Where is the outcry over his egregious and flagrant violations? Why aren’t Democrats in Congress, and Republicans with integrity, pounding their desks, demanding accountability from Chief Justice Roberts? Do we citizens have to create our own trashy porch flags to demand attention? Our House is being bulldozed by seditionists in the judicial and legislative branches of government.

Tom Denton

New Paltz