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The passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg came as a shock to many, myself included. In her passing, the world has lost a splendid human being, a person whose indomitable spirit far outshone her diminutive size. She was many things to many people; wife, mother, mentor, teacher and someone whose ability to maintain friendships bridging ideological divides wider than the Grand Canyon could serve as an example to us all.  

She didn’t want to leave us, that was clear. She knew her passing would throw the country into turmoil at a time when there was already far too much turmoil and unrest. She drew on her strength of spirit, her selfless sense of duty and her tireless and fierce determination to hold on beyond the election, to hopefully see a new change of guard.

And she almost succeeded. For that, we owe her our undying gratitude.

But life moves on, and we must move on with it. The battle lines are forming; a great struggle lies ahead. We owe it to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s memory to stay abreast of developments, to remain informed, to voice our opposition to the inevitable attempts by the Republicans to rush through a replacement to the Supreme Court before the current administration’s term runs out.

The passing of RBG, tragic as it is, should serve as a warning to those who remain undecided concerning their choice for president in the upcoming election. Had the voters whose disdain for Hilary Clinton led them to stay at home, or cast their votes for candidates with no real chance of winning, instead chosen to look beyond their own personal animosities, seen the real stakes of the last presidential election, and voted for her anyway, the makeup of the current Supreme Court would look far different than it does today.

I’m not one normally given to indulging in what-if-isms, but in this case the facts are inescapable; if Hillary Clinton had been elected president, her nominations to the Supreme Court would have been people more attuned to the thirst for justice and equality, fairness, and inclusion that has remained unquenched in this country for far too long under the guidance of the ideologically-blinded Republican Party.

Had Clinton won that election, the country would also have elected a leader who would not have ignored science; would not have denied global warming; would not have downplayed covid-19; would not have decimated our economy; would not have conspired to undo the Affordable Care Act; would not have fanned the fires of racial unrest; would not have sought to sow seeds of doubt about the integrity of our elections, our Courts, and of government itself; would not have made the USA the international pariah we are fast becoming. And we would have elected a leader who would not have sought to nullify Roe vs Wade.

For anyone who, like me, finds the actions of the current administration unacceptable, the choice this November is clear. To those who still remain undecided, I implore you to reflect deeply on the current state of affairs—not the one portrayed on the Fox network that’s maintained largely through smoke and mirrors—but the one that’s based on verifiably factual information.

Armed with a fact-based orientation, if something sounds too good to be true, there’s a good chance it isn’t.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was adept at discerning fact from fiction and her amazingly selfless service to our country is a testament to the power of truth over darkness. We would all do well to emulate her principled approach in our daily lives.

Tim Konrad

September 19, 2020