If I could have tea with. . . (A Writers Guild Prompt)

If I could have tea with. . .

Recently I read Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir of her early years, My Beloved World.  If I could overcome my awe of being in the company of a Supreme Court Justice, I would 

like to have a cup of tea with Justice Sotomayor.    I would not expect her to say anything of a political nature or to reveal any of her opinions on judicial matters.    I was struck by the way in which juvenile diabetes affected her life.     She was eight years old when diagnosed.

Her family, dysfunctional at best, was completely devastated by the diagnosis and tended to dwell on her limited life expectancy.    Her mother and father could not bring themselves to give her the insulin shots.   She got out a pan and boiled the syringe and began giving herself the insulin.  She developed extreme self-reliance early in life.

In her book, she credits the diabetes with her development of an internal awareness

of her physical reactions and in turn, her sensitivity to the reactions and emotions of others.   How can we help children today develop sensitivity to the reactions and emotions of others?

Justice Sotomayor says that she was fifteen years old when she understood how it is

that things break down:     people can’t imagine someone else’s point of view.    To me this is a simple statement which underlies most of the problems of our culture today.

Can empathy with others be taught to young people?

How old do you have to be before you can recognize that “your personal background

is something better than simply a disadvantage to be overcome”.     Growing up Puerto Rican  in a housing project in the Bronx with an alcoholic father and a serious health 

condition  shaped her into the person that she has become.    I believe a rite of passage

should be for every person to look at the positives and negatives of their upbringing and 

give thought to why they are the person they are.

Too many subjects come to mind.   Affirmative action no longer exists.   Without it, she would not have had her opportunities.   Our nation would not have access to the richness of her cultural experiences.   I would like to ask her how she thinks our nation can work to have diverse groups of our citizens represented among teachers, colleges recruitment, law enforcement, in work places  and at every level.    Just as an individual’s personality is determined by these forces, so is a nation transformed.