At 5’1″, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not much of a physical force. By the looks of her, a slight breeze probably could have carried her into the clouds. But her stature is deceptive, for inside that small frame raged a spirit stronger than most that have ever graced this nation with their presence.
Ginsburg was a steadfast leader, a woman who knew her convictions well and stood by them. Yet, at the same time, Ginsburg wasn’t afraid to admit her own mistakes and shortcomings. Most recently (in 2016) when she made derogatory comments towards Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest, she later came back and recanted her statements. She was a woman who wasn’t afraid to eat crow, admit her own ignorance, and do better going forwards.
But a titan of legality like Ginsburg isn’t one known for her mistakes. Ginsburg is a champion. For her entire life and career, she’s chosen not just to be a champion for herself, but for Americans everywhere. The greatest victories of her career have been in the name of equal representation. Ginsburg, through her clever verbiage and unrivalled tenacity, pushed the frontiers of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to greatly diminish gender based discrimination. (If you haven’t seen On the Basis of Sex or RBG, I’d highly recommend giving both a watch).
Ginsburg did this by working, often alone, from the ground up. As a law student, as counsel for the ACLU, as an Appellate Judge, and as a member of the Supreme Court (the 2nd Woman ever to hold the position), Ginsburg fought for what she believed in. And whether you believe her to be right or wrong, she stood by her convictions without backing down. I think that’s what’s made her so endearing in the past few years.
In a political administration where the President’s word is more often devoid of honor and truth than sustained by it, Ginsburg stands out as an abstemious legate of the ideals that this nation was founded on. Truth, Justice, and the American Way; in the modern sense. So despite all of her court victories, the precedents she set for American legislation, and her personal achievements as a woman in a male-centric society, I believe that her spirit is the greatest things she could have ever offered this hurting nation.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that her popularity has grown tremendously in the last four years; a period which has been relatively tame in her professional career compared to periods passed. So while Trump and co. scream about the death of patriotism and crown themselves the only one’s capable of standing up for “the Real America”, Ginsburg fights on. She fights not a war of attrition, but one against it. While the ideals of American government are steadily eroded by a man slowly trying to elevate himself into a self-serving theocracy, Ginsburg has fought on as one of the last lines of defense in service to the atavistic spirit of America. She was, and will always be, remembered as a strong spirit who championed the American Way. Not a tangible American Way that can be measured in money raised, walls built, and red hats sold, but one that has no capacity for measurement. Ginsburg stood and fought for the American Way in its purest sense, as a commitment to be a nation willing to understand its shortcomings, to take steps in the right direction, and to do what must be done so that all men and women may fully enjoy their rights to life, to liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Oust the Heretics
I can’t end this article without condemning the current hypocrisy going on in the Senate. When Justice Scalia died in February 2016, Senate Majority Leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, impeded President Obama’s selection of the next Supreme Court Justice claiming that lame duck Presidents shouldn’t be given the responsibility of selection, stating that the incoming President (and therefore the people of the United States) should have the right to selection.
Yet here we are in 2020, now faced with a similar situation and those same leaders have performed an about face. The principle they claimed to stand for is no longer valid because now it serves less benefit to themselves and more to their opponents. (The parental adage of “Do as I say, not as I do” comes to mind.) Less than an hour after the news of Ginsburg’s death broke to the public, McConnell released a statement confirming that Trump’s pick would get a hearing. Now that he stands to benefit, McConnell’s formerly proclaimed principle means nothing to him. His actions, much like the actions of Trump and his enablers during this administration, signify those of a man without integrity, a man unworthy of leading this nation. So now, the unrelenting, uncompromising personage of RBG is set to be replaced by men who have clearly shown that they serve no interest but their own.
So whether you vote Conservatively or Liberally this November, vote for people with the spirit of RBG. Not false-shepherds who’ll throw down their crook at the feet of the wolf, but leaders who will plant their feet and take a stand. Leaders who believe in something other than themselves. Leaders who truly represent the American Way like Ruth Bader Ginsburg did will forever do.
Collin Willis 