Rest in Power RBG
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away last Friday. Like so many, I just cried when I heard. Ruby came into my room a few minutes after the news broke and asked why I was crying. And so I tried to find the right words to explain to a 4 year old. I ended up with something like “A really nice, strong and brave woman who fought really hard so all girls and women would be treated fair was really sick and is not here anymore”. She had a bunch of questions but she got it - and while that description doesn’t even begin to cover it all, it kind of works.
The last few days I’ve been completely devastated, sometimes shocked, hopeless, and just overwhelmed. This really hit me. Justice Ginsberg was the ultimate badass in every way possible - showing up every single day and fighting literally til the very end. And her death, coming at a time when the world feels like it’s falling apart, just leaves so many emotions and thoughts swirling around in my head (and my gut too). I’m sad for her family and for the world - but it’s so much more than that.
As I’ve been reading more about her life and ALL that she did, I find myself in complete awe. Some of it I knew (and I’ll admit a lot of it I didn’t). But now I’m really taking it in. Everything she did was a slow, hard-earned win. And she kept going - quietly and patiently, when nobody was looking. She fought for the things that I’ve taken for granted - and she did it by herself, in a time when nobody was willing to listen. When there really wasn’t even a fight for equality. She CREATED the fight (this really gets me). But the most remarkable, astounding, (can’t find the right powerful enough positive adjective here) thing is that she fought the fight in a way that would be accepted. She changed the conversation. And because of that, they listened. She wasn’t reactive, but proactive in finding the right language that would create the path for change. I mean. Just. Wow.
"Dissents speak to a future age. It's not simply to say, 'My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this way.' But the greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view. So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow." - Ruth Bader Ginsberg
THANK YOU. I’m feeling so much profound respect, admiration, gratitude, and love for RBG. If I’m honest with myself, I’ve also been feeling guilty for not knowing all that she endured while fighting our battles. And perhaps shameful for not doing enough. And you know what, I could have done more. I should have done more. I’m going to let myself sit with that for a moment….but only to make the decision to do more. Tomorrow is a new day and we will have lots more battles to fight.
Rest in Power Ruth Bader Ginsberg - may your memory truly be a revolution. I promise to fight for your legacy, fight with the women in it today, and for the little girls and women of tomorrow.
