The Loss of An American Hero
Larry E. Coben
I
never met Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but I feel like I’ve lost a great Aunt. But,
more tragically, all Americans who cherish Democracy have lost a dear champion.
Almost all lawyers “learn the law” and practice their trade in quiet anonymity,
working for one client at a time. Only a very few Americans have had
opportunity, the “will”, and the skill to reshape the lives of so many. When we
recount those few Americans who—in modern times—stand out as champions for
justice and equal protection for all Americans, we observe the coalescence of
their remarkable resolution, their individual genius and the times and
circumstances that propelled them to succeed.
In
modern U.S. history, RBG now joins the ranks of a very select group of heroes
who devoted their lives encouraging and battling society to recognize and
acknowledge the value of every American regardless of gender, race, religion,
appearance, or political persuasion. Some of these heroes succeeded by example,
while others succeeded by deeds and words. Judging the accomplishments of these
heroes, cast in the setting of their respective times, Justice Ginsburg proudly
stands tall with these American heroes (some of which—sadly—you may not
recall): Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Presidents Dwight D.
Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, Chief Justice Earl Warren, Betty
Friedan, Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem, Jonas Salk, Benjamin Spock, Muhammed Ali,
Jackie Robinson, Vice President Joseph Biden, Ted Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, John
Lewis and Morris Dees. Each of these heroes (and there are many more not
named), lived with these common purposes: devotion to proving and establishing
that “we are all born free & equal”, “discrimination is wrong”,
safeguarding the “right to life”, “equality before the law”, “freedom of
thought”, “freedom of expression”, “the right to live without fear of poverty”,
“the right to affordable housing, medicine and education”, “the right to a fair
wage”, and “the protection of these human rights against the intolerance of
those who seek to oppress”. These Human Rights (and others), acknowledged by
the United Nations as Universal Declarations, were in large part established
and practiced in very public ways by these heroes. And, we must all—regardless
of our “political leanings”—acknowledge that but for their efforts, we would
all be less free today. “The Legacy of Heroes is the Memory of a Great Name
and the Inheritance of a Great Example”. [Benjamin Disraeli]
Justice
Ginsburg, we salute you and thank you for your good work. You are a true
American Hero.
