Daily Inspiration Quote by Stephen Breyer

A rare moment of candor disguised as a civics anecdote: Breyer is quietly translating the Supreme Court nomination fight into something more human and less mythic. “We are selected” is a blunt reminder that federal judges aren’t chosen by plebiscite; they’re appointed through elite channels, filtered by presidents, senators, and professional networks. Then he pivots to his origin story - California, San Francisco - as if to say: I’ve seen another model, and it felt normal.

The line works because it’s doing two jobs at once. On the surface, it’s biography: the young Breyer learning that public institutions can be built differently. Underneath, it’s a gentle, lawyerly deflation of the Court’s aura. The justices may wear robes, but their legitimacy isn’t a natural fact; it’s a design choice, and design choices can be argued with.

Context matters: Breyer spent a career defending the Court as a stabilizing, nonpartisan institution, even as confirmation battles turned into ideological cage matches. Referencing elected judges nods to the American tension between democracy and professionalism: elect judges and you risk campaign money, TV ads, and populist pressure; appoint them and you risk insulation, cronyism, and distance from public consent. Breyer doesn’t sermonize. He simply juxtaposes systems and lets the discomfort hang there.

It’s also a subtle act of self-positioning. He’s signaling openness to reform without endorsing any one fix, the classic Breyer move: pragmatic, institution-friendly, but aware that “how we choose” is inseparable from “why people trust.”