Ruth Bader Ginsburg | A Paragon of What Perfect Justice Looks Like

Being able to write this blog about Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg means the world to me. This dynamite human being is left handed and the feeling that I got when I first found out was pure excitement with a dash of nervousness. Why nervousness? Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not someone I could just quickly write about. If her name was going to be included in my site, I wanted to put the power, soul and heart in my words that she so deserves. I needed to put what I was really feeling, not only facts from Wikipedia. She is not just anyone, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the icon of all icons.

Who am I? I am an African American woman in Alabama and my husband and I are raising three girls. Three girls in a world that still view women as inferior. They were born with two obvious strikes against them as was I. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had several strikes. She was a woman, born from Jewish emigrants and found herself being a mother and a wife while attending school. This was absolutely amazing! The strength of it all. Not many people would have kept going, many would have quit, but this TNT of a human kept going. She not only kept going in a male dominated world, she kept going and surpassed all expectations in that world. And not only was she a wife and a mother, but she also cared for an ailing husband while doing so. Now that’s what you call a Super Diva! To say the least.

During her era, left handed people were not looked at as being the cream of the crop, so I wonder if she experienced any discrimination because of it. Being a left handed woman could not have been easy. According to TIME, in 1969, left handers were described as “southpaws, gallock-handers, chickie paws and scrammies” and were seen as sinister. If I ever get the chance, I will surely ask.

I’ve been watching Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for years and I do have to admit that I did not know her full history. Like everyone else, I watched the CNN special RBG. I had been waiting on it as this was something I wanted me and my girls to watch together. I didn’t know her full history, but I knew enough to say that she played a huge part in changing our nation’s history.

As I was watching it, I found myself not being able to blink. I didn’t want to miss anything. I recorded it and had it on in most rooms in my house. So, as I was getting my kids ready for their school day, I could watch it from every room.

What I love about her whole persona is that she never shouts or feels the need to argue or talk over to get her point across. She’s just Ruth. Quiet, tiny and explosive. I couldn’t help but feel proud as a woman watching this documentary. She dominated in areas (and during an era) where women were not wanted and it was inconceivable that a woman can not only be apart of, but also command.

I always tell my girls to challenge everything and that they can do whatever they want. Don’t take anyone’s word as Bible. Listen, take into account, but do your own research. Load yourself with knowledge and with knowledge is power (albeit, cliche, but true). I tell them that they can do anything that they put their heart and soul into. If anyone says you can’t, okay, let’s challenge that. And for them to see this in action in Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last night was priceless. An example and the epitome of what hard word does and that real life reaps are possible.

Per Wikipedia, here’s a short snippet of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s biography:

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg (born Joan Ruth Bader, March 15, 1933) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice (after Sandra Day O’Connor) to be confirmed to the court, and one of four female justices to be confirmed (with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who are still serving). Following O’Connor’s retirement, and until Sotomayor joined the court, Ginsburg was the only female justice on the Supreme Court. During that time, Ginsburg became more forceful with her dissents, which were noted by legal observers and in popular culture. She is generally viewed as belonging to the liberal wing of the court. Ginsburg has authored notable majority opinions, including United States v. Virginia, Olmstead v. L.C., and Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc.

Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Her older sister died when she was a baby, and her mother, one of her biggest sources of encouragement, died shortly before Ginsburg graduated from high school. She then earned her bachelor’s degree at Cornell University, and was a wife and mother before starting law school at Harvard, where she was one of the few women in her class. Ginsburg transferred to Columbia Law School, where she graduated tied for first in her class.

Following law school, Ginsburg turned to academia. She was a professor at Rutgers School of Law and Columbia Law School, teaching civil procedure as one of the few women in her field. Ginsburg spent a considerable part of her legal career as an advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights, winning multiple victories arguing before the Supreme Court. She advocated as a volunteer lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union and was a member of its board of directors and one of its general counsels in the 1970s. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where she served until her appointment to the Supreme Court.”