Zinedine Zidane

I occasionally litigate cases before the Supreme Court; I most recently represented the respondents in Conkright v. Frommert and the petitioners in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc.  Such has diminished any temptation I might have to apotheosize the Court or its members.   Particularly since I lost Conkright.

Just the same, I often wonder why the urge to apotheosize, idolize, put on a pedestal, etc., is  universal.  We’ve all done it.  Everyone’s done it as a child.  As age and experience accumulate, we presumably become less susceptible to these sorts of feelings, but my strong suspicion is that the overwhelming majority of adults still indulge the urge, perhaps with respect to a favorite law professor, author, athlete, or actor.  It could be there’s an evolutionary explanation, e.g., children were more likely to survive if they believed their parents were godlike and perfect and thus reflexively obeyed parental orders without evaluating the merit of such commands.   Accordingly, maybe we’re naturally inclined to think of other persons of high status or profound accomplishment as similarly godlike.  I don’t know.  Thoughts?  Are law professors and lawyers less susceptible?