It is not that the government may never, under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, draw a distinction based on race. Rather, the government may draw such a distinction only if it has a compelling interest in doing so, and the fact that the interest must be compelling (rather than simply substantial, legitimate, or rational) shows exactly how a right, like a rule and like an obligation, can make a genuine difference without being absolute. What there is a reason to do is different from what should be done, all things considered, just as what there is a right to do is different from what the right-holder actually gets to do, all things considered.

Unknown, Frederick Schauer - Thinkin…, loc. 139