Reflecting on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing away.

RBG - Steadfast Commitment

“The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” but only “if there is a steadfast commitment to see the task through to completion.”
~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

RBG was a revolutionary, someone who made a dent in the world while she was living, someone who is affecting the lives of so many after her passing away. As the Supreme Court nomination becomes a hot topic between the political parties in the U.S., people who haven’t heard of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are asking themselves who was the Notorious RBG ¹ and learning more. The legend spreads, and the number of people who get inspired grows. More people, especially young women, will feel empowered to stand up and challenge the long-held notions of discrimination, bias, and unjust norms. Twitter was abuzz with condolence messages from all eminent persons all across the world. It was unbelievable that she had touched the lives of so many people.

I got to know about RBG quite late in life, probably because she didn’t pop up in the tech and sci-fi world that I live in. Got to know through my wife, who is into non-profit work and reads a lot of non-fiction and world news. The impression grew multi-fold after we saw a movie named ‘On The Basis of Sex’². Felicity Jones did a great job as a fiery young RBG, and Armie Hammer was awesome as the understanding and supportive Marty Ginsburg. Got to know more about RBG since then through many articles. It is surprising that once you know about an eminent personality, you tend to get more about that person in your daily feed - Youtube, Google searches, Newsfeed, Amazon feed, etc. You just need to search for something, and that magically alters the digital pathways of your life with the answer to the search peppered all across the myriad paths at different points.

RBG - Achievements

“The life of the dead is placed on the memories of the living. The love you gave in life keeps people alive beyond their time. Anyone who was given love will always live on in another’s heart.”
~ Cicero

I think every major news outlet has written in depth about the accomplishments of RBG. Here are a few - One from Harvard (The life and legacy of RBG)³, Good Housekeeping (Here’s How Ruth Bader Ginsburg Changed American Life for the Better)⁴, and another from Achievment.org (Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Justice, Supreme Court of the United States)⁵. As you read through the articles, you realize that she did live an extraordinary life.

Readers’ Digest had a bulleted list of achievements (“15 Ways Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Made History”)⁶ that I thought would share some of them here -

1. She graduated first in her class from Columbia Law School. (The movie - ‘On the Basis of Sex’ shows the reason for her move to Columbia)
2. She battled—and overcame sexism personally.
3. She was the first person on both the Harvard and Columbia law reviews.
4. She became the second woman law professor at Rutgers.
5. She co-founded the first law journal on women’s rights.
6. She became the first tenured woman law professor at Columbia.
7. She co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at ACLU.
8. She became the first woman Jewish Supreme Court justice.
9. She is one of only four woman justices in history of the U.S.
10. She had “In the year of Our Lord” removed from Supreme Court bar certificates.
11. She was the first justice to officiate a same-sex marriage.
12. She’s the only Supreme Court Justice to become a pop culture icon.

Reflections

Viewing the Departed

“Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."
~ Richard Bach (Illusions)

Every death this year has made me think of many deaths in the past, of people that I knew personally or through media. I’ve thought a few times about the nature of death itself. Mainly about how it would have been if there was not a pandemic spreading across the world today. Thousands of people attended the vigil⁷ for RBG and many lined up to view the casket ⁸ last Wednesday and Thursday. But, it might have been a different thing altogether if it had happened last year.

I wonder about the thousands of other people who passed away this year, either due to COVID or other natural causes. Did their loved ones get to see their bodies or caskets? I think viewing the body or the casket after a person has passed away is fundamental to humans. For most of history, people knew only those in their surroundings and were able to see the dead. The connections were deep, and each death mattered a lot. Every culture had some ceremonies around saying good-byes to the departed and processing grief. It is also a time for the community to come together and give support to the family. It also helps to bring closure. Otherwise, deep down, one is left thinking if that person is still there since the last memory you have of the person is when he/she was talking to you or doing something else while living. There is an unresolved void when you only hear about a person’s death and didn’t see them.

A long time back, an Achen (priest) had told us a story during a sermon to illustrate the importance of visiting a funeral. A family had moved from Calcutta to Bangalore, and the elderly father had passed away. After the funeral service, the son spoke to Achen and said that if they were in Calcutta, there would have been a huge gathering since his dad was a well-known person in the Church and community there. During the funeral here, he felt so deserted. I still remember Achen telling us that day that there is not a great service than visiting someone after death, paying respects, and consoling the family.

But I cannot help thinking whether viewing the body is as important to the next generation as previous ones. We’re at a point in history where an average human ‘knows’ a lot more people than in the past. Through movies, social media, and news outlets, we’re exposed to so many more people. And so many pass away on a daily basis. Does the news of their passing affect us at all? Is that another news item that most people are numb to it. An abundance of anything causes numbness. When we know too many people, we cannot connect deeply with anyone. During the initial stages of COVID, every death count was so alarming, but as the number crossed hundreds of thousands, it has just become another number.

Dying Alone

“There’s no greater misfortune than dying alone.”"
~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Another effect of CoViD this year is people dying alone. Since COVID is contagious, many patients are ostracized and might be passing away in loneliness. We used to be friends with a priest who was a Hospice Chaplain in a hospital in SF. He has retired now but used to tell us about comforting people in the last stages of their death. Many old people are grateful to have someone by their side to talk to. I feel sad about the shadow of loneliness that has enveloped the world at this moment. The biggest curse of the virus is not its debilitating effects on the lungs but the solitary confinement that many people are subjected to because of it.

But the Internet has been a ray of hope that connected people during this time. We’re able to get to know information faster, and through telephones and video calls people are able to talk and see folks who are in treatment. At least, something is better than nothing.

Image Credit - https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ruth-bader-ginsburg-5592652/