US chief Justice John Roberts has told graduating seniors at his son's high school that the coronavirus has "pierced our illusion of certainty and control" and he counselled the students to make their way with humility, compassion and courage in a world turned upside down.
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"Humility. The pandemic should teach us at least that," Roberts said in a seven-minute video message posted on Saturday on the website of the Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut where his son Jack is a senior.
The 65-year-old Roberts said students should show compassion, and not just for those who were sickened by or died of the virus.
"Others are suffering, too, and many will be for a long time. Those who have lost jobs or small businesses or whose hopes and dreams may be slowly drifting out of reach," he said.
Roberts said people they encounter even years from now "may bear scars you cannot see".
The virus outbreak forced big changes at the Supreme Court where the justices heard arguments by telephone earlier in May and made live audio available, both for the first time.
Some justices participated from home, Roberts said, and he said someone asked him if his colleagues wore their robes. Roberts said he was left to wonder, "judicial or bath?".
Australian Associated Press