Thank you, Notorious RBG

Thank you, Notorious RBG.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, best known to young folks as Notorious RBG, has left an indelible mark on our country. She was a woman of valor, a woman of strength and compassion. Fierce in the face of injustice, she has been and her legacy will continue to be a role model for women everywhere at every stage of life.

She never met my granddaughter but my ten year old granddaughter knows all about her. She idolized her. She saw a grandmotherly type, firm but caring Notorious RBG in her judicial robes with jabot (that fancy lace collar) and earrings that foretold upcoming dissent.  The warning flag before the storm was something she could fully appreciate.

So looking back, we feel particularly fortunate that in January, before the world shut down and her idol was still very much alive, we gifted a trip by train to Philadelphia to see the exhibit “Notorious RBG – The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”  Everything about the weekend was exciting from the train ride to the hotel stay, the visits to the Liberty Bell and various other historic places. Boston might have been where the first skirmish of the revolution took place but Philadelphia is the city where the revolutionaries did their finest work. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated, modified and signed there before they traveled on to the waiting colonies.

How did an 87 year old Supreme Court Justice influence the life goals of a 10 year old?

What constitutes a good role model in today’s times? This octogenarian set the example with unflinching adherence to consistency and message when it came to ethics & independence from the herd. She was a fighter for true “equality for all” under the law and combined that fight with self-assurance and a fierce love for and protection of family and friends.

NPR reporter Nina Totenberg, writing about her 5 decade-long friendship with RBG, noted that “she was an inspiration to so many women, especially young women.”

Governor Mills put out an announcement stating “I had the privilege of meeting Justice Ginsburg when I was Attorney General of Maine, and I had the pleasure of watching people argue before her in the gallery of the highest court in the land. She was a gracious, tenacious person with great intellect who was devoted to the integrity of the Court and to the rule of law as it applies to every person in our country. She was one of the greatest Americans ever.”

Senator Angus King, in his press release, said in part “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a giant. A brilliant jurist, who spent her life making our country a fairer, more equitable place for all its citizens. Her unparalleled mind, her unbending backbone, and her unfailing determination were formidable, making her not only one of the nation’s foremost legal minds but also a cultural icon who inspired countless young Americans to fight for their beliefs… Though Justice Ginsburg was a force on the bench who never backed down from her ideals, she also was a warm colleague and friend who built strong relationships across the ideological spectrum – understanding that America is better when cooperation and kindness win out over endless political battles.”

The most instructive comments for America in getting past 2020 don’t come from politicians but from friends and family. It is worth the time to read the first hand commentaries by two of late Justice Antonin Scalia’s sons, Eugene (US secretary of labor) & Christopher (author), about the very special and respectful friendship between Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Antonin Scalia.

 Said Eugene Scalia who spent many a New Year’s eve with both:

“What we can learn from the justices, though — beyond how to be a friend — is how to welcome debate and differences. The two justices had central roles in addressing some of the most divisive issues of the day, including cases on abortion, same-sex marriage and who would be president. Not for a moment did one think the other should be condemned or ostracized. More than that, they believed that what they were doing — arriving at their own opinions thoughtfully and advancing them vigorously — was essential to the national good.”

And importantly from Christopher Scalia, “Reasonable people of good faith will disagree about important issues. You and your friends will likely hold very strong, very different opinions about what course our country should take and who should lead us there.

A healthy republic requires citizens to debate those issues forcefully and peacefully; a healthy society needs citizens to remember that political disagreement need not turn friends into enemies. My father and Justice Ginsburg mastered this balance. We’ll all need to do the same in the difficult months before us.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s influence ranged from a ten year old girl to a towering equal, but ideological opposite, and his family.  May her memory be a blessing and her example good guidance for all as we go forward toward a new year.