Another week, another set of challenges! Lots of questions, not a lot of answers. Here’s a question I’m struggling with as our nation will be laying Associate Justice Ginsburg to rest and watching for the announcement of a nominee to the Supreme Court . Thank you for being here. We at Common Sense Civics and Citizenship appreciate your participation!
I took a long walk today and sat for a moment of contemplation at a monument with our flag flying at half-mast. The question on my mind is the life work of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I see where people have called her terrible names for her stance on social issues. Others mourn her passing and fear her replacement before the nominee is announced.
Is it possible to respect the courage and bravery of one who has fought valiantly and repeatedly to defeat cancer, while having profound disagreements on the most critical issues of the day? I think so. Yet, I struggle with this question:
How could someone deprive the right of an unborn citizen to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to due process of law, while bravely and courageously fighting to preserve her own life against all the odds?
I may have profound disagreements with Justice Ginsburg’s opinions on the Supreme Court. Still, I admire anyone with the courage to come back repeatedly from cancer to work another day with diligence. Laziness certainly was not RBG’s problem; metastatic pancreatic cancer was, and rest assured, it is a 100% killer. Yet, she came back again and again and again and again. She got dressed up and put in a good day’s work. How could I not respect her work ethic and her will to fight for her cause? Would to God that we would take our cause seriously enough to fight to the death for it!
On the other hand, Justice Ginsburg’s unbelievable battle to preserve her own life while not defending an innocent’s right to life is astounding. As I sat on that bench facing the American flag, I struggle to balance these dichotomies. Here’s a woman who set the pace in defining her life’s work, never giving up while maintaining a successful marriage and loving family.
The question remains in my mind: Do WE define our own success by our life’s work and mission? Or, in the end, is our life’s work judged not by our success, but by a purpose greater than ourselves?
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. ??
