January 11, 2026

There is in most Americans some spark of idealism, which can be fanned into a flame. It takes sometimes a divining rod to find what it is; but when found, and that means often, when disclosed to the owners, the results are most extraordinary.

Louis Brandeis (1856-1941), American supreme court justice. The Words of Justice Brandeis, 1951, in Jay p. 55

 Is that spark of idealism still alive? If not, what constitutes a divining rod? [This rod is usually a forked stick used for dousing—which is a technique for searching for underground water, minerals, etc. by observing the motions of a pointer, the divining rod.]

The point is: the value of that spark of idealism really depends to what direction is it pointed.