The closest I ever came to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in 2004 while in DC. It was opening night of the Washington National Opera’s 49th season. The opera chosen that night was Andrea Chenier, far from a favorite of mine; however, the four act opera about tragedy, war, love, and death was worth the evening simply because I got to see, from my cheap seats far away from the front row, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia walk in together with their spouses and take their seats next to each other. In full disclosure, if I had chosen one of the Justices to stalk that evening it would have been Justice Scalia. When it comes to the interpretation of the law, I prefer Justice Scalia’s jurisprudence over Justice Ginsburg’s, with eight cases decided by the Court being the exception. But, the cases aren’t important to me this Sunday morning. This morning, two minima, yet unfortunately very foreign, concepts in which Justice Ginsburg lived her life is far more inspiring to me than any of her votes.
Here’s the first one. Explain to me how someone can be the VERY BEST in their class at Cornell, Harvard, and Columbia, and STILL have to scratch, claw, and crawl their way to the top. Easy. You’re a woman, you’re Jewish, and you’re a mom. These three strikes against her could have immediately made her put the apron her surrounding world so forcefully encouraged her to put on and learn how to cook that amazing casserole. Thank God she didn’t. I’m a firm believer that grit and guts are often developed out of necessity. Some people have ‘just enough crazy’ inside of them to dig their heels in deep… way deep… and refuse to quit. When I think of the 5’1″ woman born and raised in Brooklyn who will be remembered for DECADES to come for her life commitment and work to championing not only women’s rights, but human rights, I definitely think of the word GRIT. I will always respect Justice Ginsburg for her championship of humanity and interpretation of the law, even in moments of disagreement, but I am absolutely in love with her, inspired by, and aspire to make my small world a better place because of her simple, flat out refusal to quit. Perseverance is not easy, yet she was the perfect example of such a word.
When Justice Ginsburg graduated from Columbia law school, she had to have her husband’s signature of approval to apply for a credit card. Read that again. A woman who could run circles around the men running the credit cards company had to have her husband’s signature to even apply. That didn’t detour her from her purpose. That didn’t make her bitter against men. That didn’t stop her from moving forward. She took it, while refusing to accept it. She tucked it in her back pocket and used it as fuel to move forward and make a change. She didn’t fight, she didn’t yell, she didn’t burn buildings, she didn’t spit, and she didn’t name call. She worked. And she worked harder than those around her. That is why she will be remembered while others will not.
In 2008, I moved back to New Orleans to work for my father, a career I swore I WOULD NEVER even consider, much less eventually take over. By nature, I have an absolutely horrible memory; however, I will never forget my first company meeting. I got stuck in the elevator on the way to the conference room so I was late walking in. When I opened the door, I just began to laugh. A laugh I tried so hard to control, but couldn’t. Here’s why I laughed: I was one of two women in the room and one of five people under the age of sixty. Over 90% of the room were older, white/ gray haired men who looked exactly like my father. Now, I want to stop here and be the first to say, that I mean no disrespect at all in saying that. The knowledge, experience, and success of all those older, white haired men put me in a position to learn from the very best of the best. They had already forgotten more than I would ever know about the business, but it was humorous to me because that scene was every stereotype women, and lots of men, spend their entire lives fighting against. Fast forward today, twelve years later, and still only 37 of Fortune 500 CEO’s are women. Yes, Justice Ginsburg made great strides, but there is still room for much progress. We must never stop the fights worth fighting. Grit. Perseverance. Guts.
My second point I want to note about Justice Ginsburg is far more important to me than the first. While the Justice refused to be bullied and had zero problems standing her ground, she was a kind and respectful human being. She conducted herself about partisan politics. This was never more evident that her Senate confirmation, in which she only had three NAY votes. Her work, life, and character spoke for itself. To put that in perspective, Justice Thomas had 48 NAYs. Justice Sotomayer had 31 NAYs. Justice Kagan had 37 NAYs. Chief Justice Roberts had 23 NAYs. Justice Alito had 42 NAYs. Justice Gorsuch had 45 NAYs. Justice Breyer had 9 NAYs and then the most controversial Senate confirmation of a US Supreme Court Justice in history, that of Justice Kavanaugh, who received 49 NAYs. I truly respected Justice Ginsburg who very quickly came to the defense of Justice Kavanaugh, stating, “Justice Kavanaugh is a very decent and very smart man and deserves the same fairness during these hearings as any one of us would desire.” Wow… what a concept? Actually listening to UNDERSTAND AND COMPREHEND instead of listening to RESPOND AND ATTACK. Justice Ginsburg would agree on nothing with Justice Kavanaugh when it came to the law, but she still believed he deserved to be treated like a human being, heard in his hearings, and then judged accordingly. MIND BLOWN.
In a world where there seems to be only black and white these days, Justice Ginsburg reminds me that there is a lot of gray in most areas. We all come from different experiences, different perspectives, and different values; however, it’s the destination that most of us still agree upon, and that is doing the best we can for our ourselves, our families, and our communities. I still believe the majority is good and the majority wants to leave the world a little better than how they found it. If we take a quick breath, and actually listen, distinguishing between the noise and chaos, then there’s a large chance we will understand. And, even if you can’t find any understanding or common ground with your fellow man, still walk away choosing kindness towards them. Justice Ginsburg surrounded her life with diversity, people who brought different perspectives and conversations, and people who forced her to think instead of simply reacting.
Her career’s work is extremely important and will be remembered as one of the greatest minds to ever sit in one of those coveted nine seats. She fought cancer four times. She raised two children. She still always found time to teach so that future generations of lawyers, policy makers, and activists could learn from her past experiences and words of wisdom. I’m thankful for women like her. Women who choose security in themselves, women who choose boldness, and women who choose to shatter glass ceilings by digging their Jimmy Choos in deep and doing the work that needs to be done. Guts, grit, civility, and those necklaces…. what an amazing life and an extraordinary woman. Chest out, ladies, and your favorite color lipstick on… finish strong like RBG.
Peace. Love. Tigers. Never Quit.
Laura
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