Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Obliterated the Bootstrap Myth
8 years agoIf you've been paying attention to politics lately, you've definitely heard the phrase "pull oneself up by one's bootstraps." The term is most often used to refer to the belief that any citizen in the United States, regardless of social or economic status, can get ahead in life on their own merit, without seeking help from others or the federal government. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who also happens to be the first Latina justice to serve on the highest court in the land, recently shared her own thoughts about the contentious talking point for many fiscal conservatives during a chat with the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program.
"There's a continuing tension in America between the image of the person who pulls themselves up by the bootstraps and the person who believes that you need a lift to get up sometimes," Sotomayor said while speaking with Abigail Golden-Vazquez, the executive director of the program. "Those people who believe th..