Every age group has a few influential people who matter more than most. These select few carry the gift of gravitas that cannot be learned or acquired. It’s just there. Ruth Bader Ginsburg had just that. She had it. She had what we all want. She is, and will remain respected, appreciated, and adored.
A chunk of the population may not have agreed with her political views, however, they’d be remiss to not appreciate her for her accomplishments. America is a patriarchal system, and because of that, we admire a list filled with men. That’s why it’s even more important we revere and understand the size of losing a female icon like RBG. She’s up there with the likes of Martha Washington and Abigail Adams. She’s among the greats like Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton. She and Sandra Day O’Connor share a special connection. Today, only those two women have successfully served their terms out on our nation’s highest court. And, what makes O’Connor and Ginsburg even more special is they did it without their husbands. Something Mrs. Washington, Adams, Roosevelt, and Clinton failed to do.
We all need to understand a few things with the passing of RBG. She’s a trailblazer. She’s on an incredibly short list of woman who broke through a glass ceiling that remained impenetrable for centuries. She also did it by way of merit. She was an incredibly accomplished woman who devoted her life to the law, and rose to the grandest accomplishment one can gain in the field. We can all learn from that. Imagine being told you couldn’t amount to something, but still having the guts to go for it, and ultimately acquiring it. That’s what she did. That’s why she deserves celebration.
We also would be misguided if we focused on her views and not what she meant to so many woman across this country. And, what she’ll mean to so many more. She’s going to go down as an American legend. She’s someone we all should aspire to become. We are all part of this group of individuals seeking out how to become the best of our ability while simultaneously remaining true to ourselves. Our RBG did just that.
We are approaching an election. An election where we all know what she wanted as an outcome – an outcome that results in the filling of her seat with someone of similar ideology. In this polarizing political environment we are all going to keep up our views and beliefs. In fact, our views are likely to only intensify through the election. But, when that happens. I hope we can understand and grasp the size of the woman that we just lost. A true American patriot that deserves recognition as one of the top American political icons of all time.
America has an amazing list of influential, successful, and groundbreaking women outside of politics, but in the political arena, very few rose to the occasion the way the Notorious RBG did. God bless her and God bless this country. I hope all women in America will aspire to dream big and pursue their goals to the grandest of their abilities like she did. I hope all Americans can understand her significance on our lives and respect her regardless of their views. She was a patriotic American who served her country well.
Finally, the politics of the matter. Republicans refused to bend on replacing Scalia’s seat when Obama neared the end of his term. However, before that, Harry Reid broke the filibuster rules and allowed the floodgates to open. In short, both sides share hypocritical offenses for these hotly contested seats.
Now, the actual breakdown of the court. As of late, Chief Justice John Roberts has proven a swing vote who has sided with the left in most key issues. A Trump appointee simply gives the court a 5-4 majority to the right. It also could be true that a Republican appointee will waver to the left, or vice versa in coming years. We saw this with Justice Kennedy. He was a Reagan appointee, who ended his career siding mostly with the left. This isn’t an ideal scenario that the left wants, but it’s bad timing that’ll lead to them abandoning control of the court for likely a decade. The right has gone many years without control of the court in past decades. Life goes on. It’s not a perfect system but this is how it works.
Phil Your Day 