So much for eternal verities!
In rereading Kennedy's statement, this statement is pertinent to your observation:
'You don't take a DNA test to see if you believe in freedom, it's taught,' Kennedy said."
Herein may lie a profound difference between the prevailing philosophy of Justice Kennedy and those whose world view holds to the premise that the love or desire for freedom (liberty) is inherent in the human spirit, and that individuals must be coerced (or 'taught,' using Kennedy's words) to be submissive to power excercised by others.
Early generations of Americans were, by their nature, seekers of liberty, lovers of liberty, and, by their written Constitution, agreed to "self government," only as long as those in positions of power were bound down "by the chains of the Constitution."
From Edmund Burke's "Speech on Conciliation" in 1775 to Tocqueville in the 1820's this devotion to liberty of the Americans was apparent. It is for that love of liberty that citizens have died.
Then, somewhere along the way, America's youth and its adult citizens began to be "taught" by their government officials that they needed to depend on and be "governed" by elected and appointed folks in Washington, D. C.
Recently, we are seeing a reawakening in the youth and elderly of that spirit of liberty. Does that mean that the Kennedys' and the "government's" hold on the minds of citizens is being overcome by what Burke called "the fierce spirit of liberty" in the hearts of Americans?
Just some observations, following a second look at the significance of what Kennedy said. Yes, neglect of the teaching of the founding ideas to the nation's youth has resulted in ignorance of knowledge of their Constitution. But, of equal importance is the fact that those who gain power by promising "goodies" have been teaching citizens how to become slaves to government.