• Chief Justice John Roberts told graduating seniors at his son's high school that the coronavirus has "pierced our illusion of certainty and control" and he counseled the students to make their way with humility, compassion and courage in a world turned upside down. "Humility. The pandemic should teach us at least that," Roberts said in a seven-minute video message posted Saturday on the website of the Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn., where his son, Jack, is a senior. Roberts didn't talk at all about the Supreme Court's hefty load of high-profile cases that include disputes over President Donald Trump's taxes, abortion, LGBT rights and protections for young immigrants. Instead, the 65-year-old Roberts said students should show compassion, and not just for those who were sickened by or died of the virus. "Others are suffering, too, and many will be for a long time. Those who have lost jobs or small businesses or whose hopes and dreams may be slowly drifting out of reach," he said. Roberts said people they encounter even years from now "may bear scars you cannot see." He also told members of the Class of 2020 that they will need courage in this uncertain time. "This is your moment, your time to begin leaving your mark on the world," he said. The virus outbreak forced big changes at the Supreme Court, where the justices heard arguments by telephone earlier in May and made live audio available, both for the first time. Some justices participated from home, Roberts said, and he said someone asked him if his colleagues wore their robes. Roberts said he was left to wonder, "judicial or bath?"
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• Acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, hosting a special radio show from home, painted a brighter side of the world with his favorite music, and said the fight against the coronavirus is a challenge in figuring out ways to help and care for each other. The 71-year-old, known for bestsellers such as A Wild Sheep Chase and Windup Bird Chronicle, said Friday he hoped the show would "blow away some of the corona-related blues." Murakami opened the two-hour late night show Murakami Radio Stay Home Special with "Look for the Silver Lining" by the Modern Folk Quartet, followed by 18 other songs, selected from classical to jazz, pop and rock. Their common thread: smile, sunshine, rainbow, birthday memories and other happy sides of life. Murakami said comparing the fight against the coronavirus to a war, as politicians often do, is inappropriate. "It's a challenge for us to figure out how we can share our wisdom to cooperate, help each other and keep balance. It's not a war to kill each other but a fight of wisdom to let us all live," he said. "We don't need enmity and hatred here."
A Section on 05/24/2020