Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court Portraithttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_2016_portrait.jpgRuth Bader Ginsburg, who one could easily call a hero, explains, “I just try to do the good job that I have to the best of my ability, and I really don’t think about whether I’m inspirational. I just do the best I can.” Ginsburg has had an impact on countless peoples’ lives, but her childhood was much like the rest of ours. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born on March 15, 1933 to a middle-class family in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York. Her mother was her role model due to how she aimed for equal opportunity regardless of gender. Seeing her mother work towards something that was not possible at the time, gender equality, inspired her to do the same. In addition to her mother, Ginsburg was also influenced by stories of Nancy Drew and Amelia Earheart. By reading about Drew’s adventures and hearing about Earheart’s bravery, she felt as though she had the power to conquer the odds, just as they had. In college, she married Marty Ginsburg because “he was the only boy that cared that [Ruth Bader Ginsburg] had a brain” (“Ruth Bader Ginsburg: My life on the Supreme Court” 30:08-30:12). Marty did what was unimaginable in his time. He looked past Ginsburg’s gender and focused on her intelligence. This important quality resulted in him being her supportive, life-long companion. Ruth Bader Ginsburg attended Cornell University, Harvard Law School, and Columbia University, either as top of her class or close to this position, but she was unable to find a job after graduating. This was solely based on her gender. After persistent effort, finally became a clerk, also known as a legal assistant, for a U.S. District Court judge. Eventually, President Bill Clinton appointed her as the second female Justice in the history of the United States. Ginsburg worked extensively to end gender-based inequality before becoming a Justice and throughout her time on the Supreme Court. Her unrelenting efforts prove why she is a hero worth honoring. When we hear about the challenges that a hero such as Ginsburg has overcome and the impact that the hero has had on society, we feel emotionally elevated. The world can become a better place if people are inspired to become heroes and make a difference in their world. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspires people to fix the flaws that they see in the world through her determination in the face of challenges, her effort to fix widespread problems, and the changes she brought to the world.

Ruth Bader GInsburg with Marty Ginsburghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justice_Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_and_her_husband_Martin_D._Ginsburg_in_2009.jpgGinsburg had to overcome many personal challenges throughout her lifetime, resulting in qualities like perseverance. Some of the most difficult obstacles to overcome were the challenges that her family faced. One example of this was when her husband, Marty Ginsburg, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. She had to look after her daughter, take care of Marty, and manage her own studies as well as Marty’s. As a result, she usually began sleeping at four o’clock a.m. (“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg In Conversation” 49:31-50:32). She knew that her family was important, so regardless of the effort it took to manage so many important things at once, Ginsburg persevered through this challenging period of her life. She worked late into the night, much beyond the point of exhaustion. Her efforts to keep her family are extreme in comparison to what most people struggle with on a day-to-day basis. Despite the almost overwhelming pressure from different responsibilities, Ginsburg persisted and overcame the hardships in her path. Her perseverance is a heroic quality. Seeing how she refused to let her hardships engulf her encourages others to follow her example. People feel compelled to stand strong in the face of difficulties, whether they are world-wide problems or personal issues. Furthermore, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has survived cancer three times over the last twenty years. In 1999, she had colorectal cancer. In 2009 she had pancreatic cancer and had lung cancer at the end of 2018 (“Justice Ginsburg: I Am Very Much Alive” 2:06-2:26). Regardless of her old age when fighting the cancers, Ginsburg is a survivor and has overcome the challenge not only once, but three times. Her outlook on the disease is unique as she follows Marilyn Horne’s words, asserting that “...I will live. Not that I hope I'll live or I want to live. I will live” (“Justice Ginsburg: I Am Very Much Alive” 3:05-3:21). Her determination to succeed and her complete denial of failure accentuates heroic qualities as well. People are inspired by these characteristics and transform themselves into heroes by exhibiting the same characteristics. Thus, Ginsburg’s perseverance through personal challenges inspire others to uplift the world like she did. In addition to personal difficulties, Ginsburg also had to overcome challenges relating to her education and career. At this point in time, women were the minority in college. At Harvard she, along with eight women in her class out of a total 500 students, were called into the headmaster’s office. They were asked to explain why they were at the university taking the place that a man could have (“Ruth Bader Ginsburg" Paragraph 3). This was extremely unfair treatment, due to the imbalance of gender equality. Women were asked why they were taking a man’s place when they had the right to a good education like all citizens. None of the men were forced to justify their reasons for attending college, further adding to the imbalance. Being one of the few women at her college, Ginsburg had to deal with gender inequality on a daily basis. Nevertheless, she looked above the unfairness for the sake of her education. While many of the injustices made her angry or frustrated, she stayed focused on her end goal of graduating college with distinction. Through this particular Harvard experience, Ginsburg motivates people to also stay true to their goals regardless of the challenges aiming to throw them off track. The determination she has learned through challenges in her life provide inspiration for people to do what they are passionate about and to make their world a better place.

Ginsburg was deeply passionate about gender equality and her efforts on the subject have also inspired people all over the world. She began inspiring people when she became the first tenured professor at Columbia University. From that point onwards, there have always been some female professors at the university ("Ruth Bader Ginsburg" Paragraph 4). Ginsburg was passionate about achieving equal rights so she worked hard to become a recognized professor at the school and prove that women could do the job at the same standard as men. Her employers saw her dedication and were forced to acknowledge this. The fact that there are always some female professors at any given time shows how Ginsburg’s dedication inspired the university to be fair and adhere to gender equality. Her persistence, though not intended to make a change, shaped society. People are inspired by her story because it proves that one can make an impact on the world, even through a small action. They are compelled to take these small actions, eventually compounding to make a big change. Furthermore, Ginsburg inspired people through the court cases she won. One such example was the case Reed v. Reed. In this case Ginsburg had to prove to the Supreme Court, that gender inequality existed (Carmon et al Knizhnik 52). Another such case was when Ginsburg had to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court on behalf of Sharron Frontiero, a woman who worked in the military. Her husband, as a man, was not allowed the same benefits that the wives of military men received. Ruth had to convince the justices that the Constitution banned discrimination based on gender (Carmon et al Knizhnik 43-44). In these cases, the justices were not keen to acknowledge the discrimination, stating that women were privileged in society. They ardently believed that women were more elevated than men in society. In other words, they thought they were putting women on a pedestal, but in reality, they were putting women in a cage. Ginsburg was so passionate about the issue that she was willing to take the effort to convince her biased audience. Her determination to do what she was passionate about uplifts others. Therefore, her determination inspires others to improve the world by doing what they are passionate about. Another case Ginsburg argued was on behalf of Lilly Ledbetter. Ledbetter was the only female manager of the Goodyear corporation. Despite working hard and remaining with the company for a long time, she still made the least salary. The unfair salary was yet another example of gender-based discrimination in the workforce. Ginsburg argued in her behalf and won, resulting in Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (“Ruth Bader Ginsburg: My life on the Supreme Court” 34:44-35:22). Ginsburg, as mentioned earlier, was very passionate about resolving gender inequality. This achievement was one of many times where she made a case that resulted in the creation of a law. The law is a stronger solution, due to having punishments for not following it. Therefore, the cases that resulted in laws made a more permanent solution to gender inequality. She made an imprint in history on the basis of gender, making people realize that they have the power to make a permanent change to the world. They feel as though their voice matters and that they can achieve great things by using it, like she did. Consequently, Ginsburg’s many achievements show people that they have the power to make a change, motivating them to make a positive difference in the world.

Supreme Court - 2009https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_US_2009.jpgGinsburg has inspired people to make a change in the world through her challenges and accomplishments. One way that she inspired others was by changing their perceptions about gender equality. Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist is a perfect example of this. Rehnquist had been strongly opposed to the idea of equal rights at the time when Ginsburg was arguing for women’s rights. However, after Ginsburg worked towards women’s rights for 30 years, Rehnquist began to take her side. In the case Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, Rehnquist cited some of Ginsburg’s cases about women’s rights (Carmon et al Knizhnik 114). Rehnquist was notorious for gleefully downgrading women. However, due to Ginsburg’s passion and effort, he began to see the value that women had. Seeing Ginsburg’s passion in the subject compelled him to understand the reason for such intense fervor. As he began to understand Ginsburg’s reasoning, he began to convert to her point of view. Rehnquist began to understand her message to the point that he began to use her victories to power his argument when writing his cases. Thus, Ginsburg’s work encourages people to value gender equality by changing the understanding of it. Ginsburg also inspires people to fix the flaws in the world through her powerful dissenting opinions as well. Dissenting is a Justice’s reasoning for not agreeing with the majority opinion. When a justice reads a dissenting opinion in front of the court, it is similar to civilly rebelling against the majority opinion, something that rarely happens. Ginsburg has read a dissent five times already (Carmon et al Knizhnik 171). Ginsburg’s dissents make people realize that even as one voice of seven, she is still able to work towards gender equality. Ginsburg is only one voice out of seven on the Supreme Court, so the overall opinion does not always agree with what she believes. She ensures that her voice is still heard on the topic of gender equality through her awe-inspiring dissents. People see Ginsburg stepping away from the rest of court in order for her point to be heard, inspiring them to step out of the background on topics that are passionate to them. This causes them to understand that even without being the majority, one can still make their voice heard and make a difference. Ginsburg has impacted people through her actions, accomplishments, and challenges, ultimately inspiring them to make a difference to the world.

Ginsburg has proven, in many ways, what it means to be a hero. People can learn the importance of passionately working to improve the world through her life’s challenges, accomplishments, and impact on others. Ginsburg’s unwavering response to challenges teaches us the importance of determination in the face of difficulty. Her accomplishments illustrate what determination can accomplish. Finally, her effect on society shows how being determined and speaking out can help one achieve great things, ultimately changing the world. Ginsburg’s story shows people that they have the ability to change the world for the better, regardless of how small their actions may seem. I am inspired by Ginsburg’s passion towards what she believes in. She doesn’t let challenges stop her from doing the right thing. She makes the world a better place by using her voice, inspiring me to fix the flaws I see using mine. Ginsburg stays true to her passions throughout life and never stops reaching for them. She proves to us that our voice matters and that we can do amazing things with it. Overall, Ginsburg illustrates how we can mend the holes in our world using a power we have in our grasp.

Allison T, Scott. “5 Surprising Ways that Heroes Improve Our Lives”. www.psychologytoday.com, Psychology Today, 16 April 2014, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-we-need-heroes/201404/5-surprising-ways-heroes-improve-our-lives.
Carmon et al Knizhnik, Irin, and Shana Knizhnik. Notorious RBG (2015): the Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Dey Street Books, An Imprint of William Morrow Publishers, 2015.
"Justice Ginsburg: 'I Am Very Much Alive'." Morning Edition, 24 July 2019. Gale In Context: Biography, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A594917684/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=3b7d6348. Accessed 4 Dec. 2019.
“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg In Conversation”, pbs.org. Uploaded by PBS, 2 January 2019, https://www.pbs.org/video/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-in-conversation-jzwgyq/
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg: My life on the Supreme Court.” youtube.com , uploaded by CNN, 12 February 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuB4vr6Elok.
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