Ruth Bader Ginsburg
When I hear the name Ruth Bader Ginsburg I pretty much immediately think badass. I’ve known since the beginning that I wanted to write about her because she just screams positive change. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an icon and inspiration. It’s always been when I want to write about her, not if. I like to post things in or around a date that correlates to the topic. This feels equally or even more important for Ruth. (Can we just call her Ruth? I think I’m going to.)While researching to find an important date or at least a date that makes sense I discovered that Ruth was born on March 15th which is so close to the Spring Equinox (March 20, 2021, which is another topic I want to discuss). The day that she passed from this world was September 18 which is also close to the autumnal equinox (September 22, 2021, another topic that I want to discover). It feels like an important symbol that Ruth was born and passed so close to both the equinoxes. Spring represents new growth and birth while autumn symbolizes the beginning of hibernation. Ruth may have passed, but she passed on the baton as well. Let’s see what we can do to prevent the forward momentum from going into hibernation. (Oh, and did I mention she was born during Women’s History Month. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain the symbolism there.)
Who Is Ruth Bader Ginsburg
In order to better understand Ruth and her legacy we have to start from the beginning and the basics. As mentioned earlier Ruth was born on March 15th in 1933. Her birth name was Joan Ruth Bader. Her family called her Kiki. This was a nickname given to her by her sister, Marylin, who passed from meningitis at the age of six. When Ruth first stated school her mother discovered there were several other girls named Joan and suggested she go by Ruth to avoid confusion. Ruth was also given the nickname The Notorious RBG by blogger Shana Knizhnik in 2013. This nickname spread like wildfire. Ruth was a staunch supporter of Women’s rights. In her lifetime she became the first female tenured professor at Columbia University and was the 2nd female justice appointed to the Supreme Court. She also served as the director of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Not only did Ruth fight for gender equity she also focused on the rights of workers and the separation of church and state.
What Did She Do
When Ruth first started her career in law, she was not there to support gender equality. She said she originally went to law school because she simply thought she would be better at it than others. The things that she experienced during law school and earlier in life started her down her path of fighting for gender equality. A big contributor to Ruth’s path was the other women in her class and the treatment they received. In the class of ’56, there were only 9 women. Even with so small numbers of women, Ruth and her fellow female classmates were asked why they were occupying seats that could have been filled by more male classmates. We all know that Ruth would go on to handle difficult life challenges but she still persevered through them all. Ruth is often quoted as motivational but you can also find many quotes that are portrayed as preposterous. Ruth seemed to know this and often continued on to prove the counter arguments wrong. "When I'm sometimes asked 'When will there be enough (women on the Supreme Court)?' and my answer is: 'When there are nine.' People are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that." She has also said, "Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation." It’s hard to even begin to list the different things that Ruth accomplished or had a hand in in her life. For example, she was a Supreme Court justice for 27 years. That alone is an accomplishment. Besides the overwhelming amount of things she would have had a say in during that tenure, it doesn’t take into consideration the things she worked on while in law school, as a mother, and in the creation of ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. Ruth played a role in 34 Supreme Court Cases and won 5 of 6 cases that she argued. When Ruth fought for gender equality, she really fought for true gender equality. It is said that one of Ruth’s favorite cases was when she fought for a husband whose wife died during childbirth. He was originally denied survivor’s benefits based on his gender.
How Can We Continue Her Legacy
Ruth left some really big and awesome footprints behind her. How can we best follow in those footsteps and keep them moving forward in her legacy? Ruth was quoted as saying, “To Make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that’s what I think a meaningful life is. One lives not just for oneself but for one’s community.” This means so much to me and hopefully to you. I believe there are many ways that we can continue on with the legacy that Ruth left us. I think the most important thing that we can focus on on an individual level is making life a little better for around us. I think that it is also at the most basic level what I hope to accomplish with this blog and uniting a community of like minded people. There are an infinite number of ways that we can help others. We can improve someone’s day by smiling, paying for someone’s bill, making a compliment, offering a surprise gift, giving someone a break and so on. I think in this case a fun and important way to help would be to mentor someone. We never know the path of our lives or the path of those around us. When we mentor someone we can make it easier for them to follow their path. Mentoring helps others and even possibly us. Mentoring can spark inspiration, confidence, problem solving and many other attributes. Along with mentoring we can support those that are making momentum in ways that we aren’t able to. There are many people that are (or will be) up and coming and pioneers in their own fields just like Ruth was in hers. There are also many organizations that support further progress on gender equality, supporting these organizations is important as well. It’s hard to say how continuing Ruth’s legacy will look for you but the beauty of having many people working towards a common goal is that we don’t have to be perfect or do all of the work ourselves. As long as we continue to take steps forward, no matter how small they may feel, I believe that Ruth would be proud of us. I know I am proud of us.
As always, stay positive and much love
Additional Resources:
https://www.aclu.org/other/tribute-legacy-ruth-bader-ginsburg-and-wrp-staff
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/ruth-bader-ginsburg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/19/politics/best-ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes-trnd/index.html
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g34111816/ruth-bader-ginsburg-accomplishments/
https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/in-memory-of-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-1933-2020/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/women-fighting-uphold-ruth-bader-ginsburg-legacy