When the news came across my phone, I was with a group of friends.
“No!!!!” I yelled.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Her health had been failing for a long time. Somehow though, I thought she might last a while longer. Maybe forever.
At least through the election.
I have an RBG action figure. She sits in a tall candle holder-vase thingy in my living room—I don’t know what the thing actually is because it was my mother’s—and Ruth fits in it perfectly. High above everything else on display.
I wondered where to put her after the news of her death. But I’ve decided. She will stay right where she is. In that candle holder-vase thingy. Above it all because that’s just what she was.
Pick your paper. The story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the news everywhere right now. The New York Times and Washington Post are both writing multiple stories.
Her life. Her career. Her rock star popularity. Ruth Bader Ginsburg deserved all the attention she is getting now.
This week should be interesting. Just how big might her funeral be? Who will speak? Who won’t? Who won’t be invited. High drama.
Where does it all go from here? Already, we hear President Trump wants a replacement before the election. Senator Mitch McConnell promises a vote in the Senate sooner than later. Can’t we just wait a minute?
I thought this election would be decided on Coronavirus. Then, racial strife in this country. Now, I’m inclined to believe it might be Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement on the Supreme Court.
I can’t imagine that it could get done before Election Day, but you never know.
So far, President Trump has appointed two justices. Now, he has the chance to appoint a third. Depending where you fall on the political spectrum, that could be good news or bad news.
One thing’s for sure. It’s going to get ugly… uglier, I should say. Just when we thought we couldn’t get any more divided in this country, one more thing comes along.
What’s sad about all of this is how we should be celebrating this woman’s amazing life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspired a generation of women. Inspired a generation of men, too.
I can only think about the last scene in the movie “On the Basis of Sex.” That wonderful film about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Felicity Jones portrayed Ginsburg climbing the stairs outside the Supreme Court. The camera pans and you see the real Ruth Bader Ginsburg on those stairs. Old. Frail. But… still there.
I gasped then. I’m crying now.
We lost one of the greats. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A lion. An icon. Truly, a woman of the people.