(HorizonPost.com) – America lost a profoundly intelligent, joyful spirit with Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on September 18, 2020. She died from complications from pancreatic cancer on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Her death’s timing has meaning under Jewish tradition: It’s believed that the righteous die close to the end of the year because the world needs them.
She was born to a family of modest means in Brooklyn, New York. The youngest of two children, her sister died while Ruth was still an infant, and her mother died before she graduated from public school.
Ginsburg spent much of her legal career fighting for women’s rights and gender equality, concerns that followed her all the way to the Supreme Court when then-President Bill Clinton appointed her in 1993.
Although Ginsburg is remembered by many as a Liberal icon, she frequently sided with Conservative Justices and causes and had a close friendship with Conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Surprising Conservatism
Although Ginsburg was a Liberal, she often turned to classical Conservative reasoning when reaching conclusions on important matters. As Left-leaning Politico points out, history shouldn’t rush to label Ginsburg an uncompromising Liberal. Her time on the bench demonstrated a remarkable ability to support Conservative principles spearheaded by her great friend Justice Scalia.
Much like originalists, Ginsburg adhered to tradition and the principles of federalism as a member of the Supreme Court. If anything, her view on the Constitution bore the marks of Conservatism.
Ginsburg’s decades-long friendship with Conservative icon Antonin Scalia baffled many who thought of them as ideological opposites. Their friendship was grounded partly in their shared love of the opera, but their adherence to common values was at its very core.
Ginsburg’s husband, Martin, died in 2010. Two children, James and Jane, survive her.
Copyright 2021, HorizonPost.com
