Thomas said Americans had seemingly "lost interest" in constitutional matters, a new book says.
"They're interested in what they want rather than what is right as a country," he said in the book.
Thomas said Scalia had similar sentiments as him about a lack of urgency in protecting liberties.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas expressed disappointment that more Americans weren't attuned to the Constitution and remaining vigilant about the protection of liberties, a new book says.
In the book, "Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words," coedited by Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta, Thomas was interviewed by Pack for over 30 hours between November 2017 and March 2018, in what became an expanded companion to the 2020 documentary of the same name.
During the conversation, Thomas said people seemed less attentive to the Constitution than they should be.
"I think we as citizens have lost interest and that's been my disappointment. That certainly was something that bothered Justice Scalia, that people tend to be more interested in their iPhones than their Constitution. They're interested in what they want rather than what is right as a country," he said.
When Pack asked whether the loss of interest among the general population was "a burden for the Supreme Court," Thomas said no.
"No, it's a burden on them, the citizens," he said. "They're going to lose their liberties."
When Thomas was asked whether the Supreme Court served to protect liberties, he said the nine-member body was only "one part of the effort."
"You protect your liberty. It's your country. We are one part of the effort, and it is the obligation of the citizens to at least know what their liberties are and to be informed," he said.
He added: "I think we are allowing ourselves to be ruled when we turn all that over to someone else and we're saying, 'Rule me.' Does it mean we get to make all the decisions? No. We have a system for doing that, but a part of that is our role in it, and our informed role in it, not what is said on TV, not what is said by some half-informed person."
Last week, Thomas played a key role in overturning Roe v. Wade — the 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the US and afforded a constitutional right to the procedure.
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-3 to uphold a Mississippi abortion ban, while voting 5-4 to overturn Roe.
The decision over abortion rights now rests with the states; 13 states had "trigger laws" in place that effectively banned abortion procedures immediately after the court overturned Roe.
Thomas in his concurring opinion wrote that the court should "reconsider" prior rulings on contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage while saying that cases involving the 14th Amendment's due-process clause needed to be reviewed.
snowball_silk on June 27th, 2022 at 13:19 UTC »
This came about as a result of his vote to withhold information that suggested his wife was involved in a plot to overthrow the US government.
Although this man is undoubtedly a failure, those of us who watched the Anita Hill hearings and saw how the testimony of the other women who supported Anita Hill's account was disregarded are not at all surprised.
It's amusing how Kavanaugh's detractors were also ignored.
Now look at us.
NAKd-life on June 27th, 2022 at 12:47 UTC »
As opposed to the TV like his generation.
Sensate60 on June 27th, 2022 at 12:45 UTC »
"When Pack asked if the loss of interest among the general population is "a burden for the Supreme Court," Thomas disagreed. "No, it's a burden on them, the citizens," he said. "They're going to lose their liberties."