The Parable of the Family at the Ice Cream Parlor

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, how fine is the line between the responsibility for judicial review and the liberty of judicial activism?”

Josh spoke thus:

A family walked into an ice cream parlor.

“Okay,” the patriarch of the family said, “What do we want?”

The oldest child said, “I want pistachio!”

The matriarch of the family said, “You can’t have pistachio.”

The second-oldest child said, “I want Rocky Road!”

The matriarch of the family said, “You can’t have Rocky Road.”

The youngest child said, “I want raspberry ripple!”

The matriarch of the family said, “You can’t have raspberry ripple.”

“Why can’t I have pistachio?” the oldest child asked.

“Why can’t I have Rocky Road?” the second-oldest child asked.

“Why can’t I have raspberry ripple?” the youngest child asked.

“You have to vote,” the matriarch of the family said.

“But they don’t like pistachio,” the oldest child said.

“They don’t like Rocky Road,” the second-oldest child said.

“They don’t like raspberry ripple,” the youngest child said.

“That’s why you have to vote,” the matriarch of the family said, “If you don’t vote and you don’t all choose the same flavor, nobody gets any ice cream.”

“If we vote, only two have to agree,” the oldest child said.

“That’s democracy,” the second-oldest child said.

“I want raspberry ripple,” the youngest child said.

“So if I say raspberry ripple, we all get raspberry ripple?” the oldest child asked.

“I don’t like raspberry ripple,” the second oldest child said.

“It’s raspberry ripple or nothing,” the oldest child said.

“We could all say Rocky Road,” the second-oldest child said.

“I want raspberry ripple,” the youngest child said.

“If I were you, I would vote vanilla,” the patriarch of the family said.

“Why vanilla?” the oldest child said.

“Because I want vanilla,” the matriarch of the family said.

“I want raspberry ripple,” the youngest child said.

“You don’t get a vote,” the second-oldest child said to the family matriarch.

“But you three all do,” the family matriarch said, “Just be careful how you vote.”

“I vote for raspberry ripple,” the oldest child said.

“I vote for raspberry ripple,” the second-oldest child said.

“I vote for vanilla,” the youngest child said.

“Thank you, honey!” the family matriarch said to the youngest child, “I love you.”

“Vanilla it is!” the family patriarch said.

“At least it’s not raspberry ripple,” the oldest child said.

“At least it’s not raspberry ripple,” the second oldest child said.

“Why can’t I haver raspberry ripple?” the youngest child asked.