Mark Joseph Stern, writer for Slate on law and LGBTQ issues; from Antonin Scalia Will Be Remembered As One of the Greats on slate.com (February 13, 2011).
“

[E]ven now, I'm confident Scalia's anti-gay beliefs will remain as a lasting blotch on his memory. But in a few decades—when a majority of Americans can't remember a time when the Constitution did not guarantee gay people the same fundamental rights as heterosexuals—the sting of this rhetoric will dwindle. Scalia, after all, was writing in dissent; his words had little impact on the country. […] Memories of his regrettable prejudices will recede, and in their place will emerge the image of a titan of constitutional law, a deeply principled, sincerely dedicated man who devoted his life to the court he loved.

— Mark Joseph Stern

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[E]ven now, I'm confident Scalia's anti-gay beliefs will remain as a lasting blotch on his memory. But in a few decades—when a majority of Americans can't remember a time when the Constitution did not guarantee gay people the same fundamental rights as heterosexuals—the sting of this rhetoric will dwindle. Scalia, after all, was writing in dissent; his words had little impact on the country. […] Memories of his regrettable prejudices will recede, and in their place will emerge the image of a titan of constitutional law, a deeply principled, sincerely dedicated man who devoted his life to the court he loved." in the context of "Mark Joseph Stern, writer for Slate on law and LGBTQ issues; from Antonin Scalia Will Be Remembered As One of the Greats on slate.com (February 13, 2011)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Antonin Scalia" (Quotes about Scalia) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Antonin Scalia

About Antonin Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who served for 29 years, from 1986 until his death. He was appointed to the Court by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1986.