It is possible that before she recently made a few defamatory comments about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Ruth Bader Ginsburg might not have appeared on your historical radar. Maybe you had heard of her in an AP Government class or seen that she will be portrayed by Oscar-winner Natalie Portman in an upcoming biopic, but it is apparent that her legacy may not be as well-known within the millennial generation as one may think. She has recently recanted her statements calling Trump a "faker" and bringing his consistency into question after receiving massive Republican backlash for breaking her stance of electoral neutrality. Members of the media have been quick to blast the 83 year-old Supreme Court Justice, calling her judicial clout into question. I believe that a woman of Ginsburg's standing should be remembered not by one incautious (but not entirely incorrect) comment, but instead by the tremendous impact she has had on furthering both civil and women's rights in her influential 36-year judicial career. Here are some reasons to celebrate the awesomeness that is Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
1. She's hella educated.
via welldoneladies.com
Ruth attended not one, not two, but THREE Ivy League universities, receiving her BA from Cornell, starting law school at Harvard and finishing with a law degree from Columbia. Like it's casual.
2. She has overcome tragedy.
Throughout her young life, Ruth lost both her sister and mother to meningitis and cancer, respectively. Not long after, her husband Martin was diagnosed with cancer as she attended Harvard Law, which prompted her to transfer to Columbia to help keep her family together (yes, she was married AND raising an infant while attending law school. OK Ruth).
3. She knows how to put in WORK.
via npr.com
After her husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer while also attending Harvard, Ruth took on double duty to help support her man by attending all of his classes along with hers and typing his papers for him as he received treatment. Did I mention she also graduated tied for the top of her class AND served on both the Harvard Law and Columbia Law Review? Kind of getting the sense she isn't human and was made in a lab.
4. She saw gender inequality and confronted it.
In a time when women were not considered valuable beyond the role of "secretary" or "professional Xerox operator," Ginsburg flipped the script on women in roles of judiciary power through many a hard fought battle against the historically male-dominated field. After interviewing countless times and not being hired, Ginsburg began professing law at both her alma mater and Rutgers University while pregnant, going as far as to wear oversized clothing to hide her pregnancy and avoid gender discrimination. She eventually became a well-known advocate of gender equality, representing cases in front of the supreme court. YEAH RUTH, WAY TO FOSTER MODERN DAY FEMINISM.
5. She made decisions to foster women's civil liberties.
via msnbc.com
Her place as Supreme Court Justice left Ruth in a paramount position to positively benefit the betterment of women's lives in America, and she wasted no time in her position to employ legislation that would create an equal environment for men and women. Her personal beliefs in equal pay and education combined with her novel platform on the Supreme Court allowed her to be the voice the Women's Rights Movement so desperately needed.
6. She is 83!!!
Age is just a number for RBG. When not in the court room, you can catch Ruth horseback riding, jet skiing, or working with her personal trainer in the Supreme Court exercise center. She has not missed one day of oral arguments, even as she received chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. Yes, she may have fallen asleep in the State of the Union Address once (honestly, can you blame her?), but there's no doubt that Ruth has many more years planned on the Supreme Court, bringing gender equality into an actualized reality.
Also, look how cute she is. You keep doing you, Ruth.
