What sort of punishment should Justice Samuel Alito have given his wife for refusing to take down the upside-down flag she had hoisted up the flagpole at the couples’ Virginia home? Or for continuing to fly the Revolutionary War-era “Appeal to Heaven” flag at their vacation home in New Jersey?

The mainstream media voices now scoffing at Alito appear to assume that men can and should control their wives’ political opinions and have the power to silence them when they find their wives’ speech offensive. Speaking on behalf of all married (and divorced) men, we don’t.

For those unfamiliar with the controversy, on May 23, Congressional Democrats demanded Alito recuse himself from two cases before the Supreme Court because of these flag-flying incidents. Democrats argued that the symbol represents a protest against the legitimacy of the 2020 election, which was the subject of the Jan. 6, 2021 protest at the Capitol. Democrats reasoned that the appearance of the symbol over the justice’s house represents a public indication about his own opinions regarding the 2020 election and the legitimacy of the Jan. 6 protests. Seems like the makings of a reasonable argument.

Unfortunately for Democrats, they challenged one of the smartest men on earth to a battle of wits. On May 29, Alito responded. In it, he revealed a personal humiliation reminiscent of Fredo’s confession to his younger brother Michael: that he couldn’t control his wife. Michael Corleone rightly refused to condemn his brother for that. We’ve all been there. Even the protagonist of the Godfather trilogy, Michael, lost control of his wife. And now Justice Alito has said out loud what every civilized American man knows.

The media took the bait. The Intelligencer wrote, “Alito wrapped up his letter with a blanket statement blaming his wife for all future ensign-based controversies: ‘My wife is fond of flying flags, I am not. My wife was solely responsible for having flagpoles put up at our residence and our vacation home and has flown a wide variety of flags over the years.’”

The word “blame” here is synonymous with credit. While Alito might disapprove of his wife’s speech, should we doubt that he, like she, is free to form his own independent opinions? Even if most spouses try to represent a united front on questions concerning their marriage and family, both are entitled to their own opinions outside of it. Alito cannot simply forbid her from contradicting his opinions in public.

Meanwhile, the Daily Beast’s Nell Scovell proved the old adage that women are always the hardest on other women. She wrote, “Samuel Alito’s decision to point a very public finger at his wife over flying two Jan. 6-related flags at their properties has many wondering about the state of their marriage.”

Because a wife’s political independence is a sign of a bad marriage? Bad Mrs. Alito, Bad! You’ve jeopardized your marriage with independent opinions! That seems a little old-fashioned, doesn’t it?

As Alito put it, “My wife is an independently minded private citizen. She makes her own decisions, and I honor her right to do so.” Justice Alito, in contrast, never apologized for or disparaged his wife’s beliefs and he has now dared the media to require him to police his wife’s politics.

I thought Justice Antonin Scalia’s genius from the bench could never be surpassed. Yet Justice Alito has somehow tricked the entire legacy media into scolding him for not having better control over his wife. Should he make her wear a handmaid uniform, too? He learned to love an independent woman. They ought to be praising him as a credit to husbands everywhere.