The Passion
The legal subject which became the passion that drove Ruth Bader Ginsburg all the way to the Supreme Court was discrimination, especially gender discrimination and the whole big parade of sexism which drives it. Turning an interest into a passion and a passion into a career paradigm does not happen overnight. And it also does not happen without elegant use of metaphor to describe the process:
“It was clear to RBG that fighting discrimination one strongly worded letter at a time was like catching the ocean in a thimble.”
The Dissenter
In addition to her passion to put an end to discrimination policies across the country, Ginsburg’s tenure on the Supreme Court was also notable for something else. She quickly became known as a firebrand for writing dissenting opinions, even when doing so was a guarantee of disrespect from her fellow justices. Where the majority saw a verdant field of freshly mown grass, Ginsburg could detect something else entirely:
“RBG’s most famous words in the Hobby Lobby dissent could have appeared in any of her searing dissents: `The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield.’”
Down at the Arcade
Who knew that the judicial system of America was not entirely dissimilar to an arcade? The passionate fight against discrimination taken up by Ginsburg was hardly limited to sexism. Racism also was capable of igniting her outrage. That right, however, is framed in terms of not just an arcade, but notably an arcade favorite dependent upon gears and pistons rather than chips and motherboards:
“As RBG notes, efforts to stamp out racial discrimination in voting were like a game of Whack-A-Mole, with new and inventive tactics deployed as soon as an existing one was outlawed.”
The Deluge
The Voting Rights Act is the keystone legislation devoting to dismantling systemic racism in America. Needless to say, RBG was a devoted supporter of such measures and, also needless to say, quick to show outrage at not just attempts to undo it, but the rationale behind those misguided assumptions:
“Killing the Voting Rights Act because it had worked too well, she had added, was like `throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.’”
“Land, like woman, was meant to be possessed.”
Ginsburg was the first person—not just the first woman, but the first person—to take on the role of instructor for a class specifically devoted to women and the law. As usual, her preparation was comprehensive and immaculate. Of course, that preparation was facilitated by the fact that there wasn’t a whole lot of research to work through. One of those pieces of research was a textbook on property law which actually contained, without irony, the metaphorical assertion quoted above.
