Ruth Bader Ginsburg Upheld Liberal Justice, Now It’s Time for Everyday Americans to Do the Same
RBG’s death should be a wake-up call on the importance of equality and civil liberties.
As a Brit, I first heard of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2015. This was when she was instrumental in legalising same-sex marriage across the US. She was already 82 and my first thought on seeing coverage of her during that time was what a feisty woman she was.
Throughout her career, she was a voice of support for women’s rights and abortion law. She will forever be remembered as a Supreme Court Justice, but her time with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) was also momentous. She managed to overturn some 200 laws that promoted inequality of gender.
“If you impose restraints that impede [a woman’s] choice, you are disadvantaging her because of her sex.”
RBG to the Senate Judiciary Committee (1993)
What I find most inspiring was RBG’s ability to ‘have it all.’
She was a mother, lawyer, and wife, although it wasn’t always as easy for her to combine everything she loved. In the 1950s, she struggled to get work at any premier law firm, despite graduating from a top university. She later said, “To be a woman, a Jew and a mother to boot — that combination was a bit too much.”
But make it as a woman who had it all, she did.
There are, of course, countless obits that will tell you all of the above, and I don’t need to add my own.
How RBG’s Legacy MUST Shape America’s Future
I want to discuss her liberal views, and why it’s crucial the US political system continues that legacy. The States right now are at a turning point. They can carry on with the current POTUS, or select a Democrat to take things forward. I can see that, for many, this isn’t as straightforward a decision as I might think.
When we vote, we have to make a decision: do we vote for the person or the party? At the last UK election, many Brexiteer Labour supporters voted Conservative. They really believed that Boris Johnson could “get the job done”.
Many Republicans dislike Donald Trump, and there’s clear reasoning for that. He’s the least liberal Republican leader the party has seen in some time. Even prominent Republicans are voting Biden in November and suggesting others do likewise.
There are also Democrats who prefer Trump’s hard stance on Making America Great Again. Many appreciate his stance on rejecting climate protocols and increasing import taxes. They see his methods as the ‘shot in the arm’ US manufacturing needs against the COVID economy.
Presumably, these people turn a blind eye to those children taken from their parents by ICE. They must also believe the ‘fake news’ that Donald Trump himself tweets. And, presumably, they appreciate his laissez-faire attitude towards a global pandemic.
If there’s one thing we can learn from RBG’s legacy, it’s that liberal justice will win out in the end.
She fought for years to bring about change, and encourage equality. She was also a character within the Supreme Court, a prominent voice that was listened to. RBG, like Trump, benefitted from her personality and persuasion techniques. I’d like to think her strategy rested on intelligence, rather than a narcissistic belief in herself.
Do I want liberal justice to win out in November? Of course. It will be to the benefit of my American siblings, who I believe will be better off with a Democrat in the seat of power.
Do I know that Biden will win in November? No, but there will be increasingly vociferous reminders America deserves better if he doesn’t.
I believe liberal justice will come sooner or later. It rests in the hands of American citizens, at the polls in November and through making themselves heard. RBG succeeded at the latter, now it’s your turn, my friends.
