There are positive role models all over the world. But here's the rub -- one has to pay attention to discover them. Because some of the most amazing people are very quiet and go about their life without causing attention to be focused on them. I don't think we are accustomed to that type of hero -- super or not.
Within a year of her death, (1920) I finally noticed Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She was a tiny little woman, quiet and mostly unassuming. She was a wife and mother. Ruth was incredible smart. She was Jewish. She was a lawyer. And, oh yes, only the second woman to be appointed a Supreme Court Justice.
Every child should know something about her work. During the 1960's and 1970's she did amazing work towards gender equality. She truly helped to change and shape the world we live in now. In fact, I would suspect that most people my age and younger, take for granted the work she did to make our lives as full and abundant as they are.
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| My RPG doll |
My mom made sure that I paid attention to and knew something about when the first woman who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. I was happy to see Sandra Day O'Conner take her place among all the men. And yet, I'm bound to have to tell you that I didn't see the big deal. Of course there should be a woman on the Supreme Court, and there she is. And just like every other area in life, she was was the token woman. That's the way it was. That's the way I understood it. That's the way I have lived it as well. That was the old normal. Sandra and Ruth helped to create a new normal.
Another lesson to be learned from Ruth, was that she was good friends with a justice that was perhaps her exact opposite when it came to arguments and decisions brought to the Supreme Court. And yet, she and the bombastic, larger than life, Justice Antonin Scalia were dear friends. It's not that they just tolerated each other, they had genuine affection for each other. They and their spouses reveled in the joys of opera together. (Even performing a satirical opera about their relationship, but no singing for Ruth) and were said to celebrate New Year's Eve together. A gentle caring soul, was she, but Mrs. Ginsberg definitely wasn't a pushover. She was mighty in intelligence, justice and character. What an example of honoring an individual who could be regarded as an opponent.
About her legacy, she said, "To make a life a little better for people less fortunate than you. That's what I think the meaning of life is. One lives not just for oneself but for one's community."
Other quotes to be appreciated:
"My Mother told me to be a lady. And for her that meant to be your own person, be independent."
"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
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