Retired state Superior Court Justice Judith Colenback Savage‘s op-ed in today’s Projo crosses into insanity — and should make readers worry about how widely shared that insanity is. Referring to a court verdict from November, Justice Savage writes…

What others think of the jury verdict in this case is irrelevant. Under our justice system, none of us has the right to suggest that this jury got it wrong; we likewise have no right to say that the jury got it right.

Two quick points here:

1. This is an op-ed penned by former Superior Court Justice, who should be expected to understand that the term “rights” should not be used loosely, and that invoking limitations on rights is a serious matter. Given that the op-ed is a direct response to an editorial, what Justice Savage has inescapably declared is that there is no right to publish an editorial that either supports or criticizes a jury verdict. In fact, under her formulation, there is no right to offer an opinion, in any medium, for or against a jury verdict. Huh?
    
2. This op-ed illustrates what may be the most significant fault-line in our current political and civic culture. On one side of that line, you have people who believe that government (or perhaps another collective) possesses the power to define reality in any way that it chooses. On the other side, you have people who take a much more modest view of government’s ability to manufacture reality. What is not at all surprising is finding an extreme proponent of the view that government is the final word on reality occupying a very comfortable spot within Rhode Island’s political culture.