“I have a vision of ministry of justice which sees as its responsibility the expansion of justice for all of our citizenry and which perceives its task to confront injustice wherever it is found. One which opposes private lawlessness by a slum landlord and official lawlessness by a general [...], bombing cities against orders. One which chooses civil rights and liberties over regressive tactics and suppression of dissent. One in which the guarantee of justice to every American is regarded as a pervading continuing mission.”
Our Quote of the Week was chosen in honor of the inimitable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away due to complications from pancreatic cancer this past Friday, September 18th. She was 87 years old.
Sargent Shriver spoke these words about justice while running for Vice President on the George McGovern ticket in 1972. In this campaign speech, he outlined a vision of justice that he intended to implement if he and McGovern were elected. In this fiery speech that simultaneously delineates a positive strategy for advancing justice and also criticizes the Nixon administration for failing to provide justice to the people of the United States, Shriver lays out a blueprint that is very much in line with the principles that Ruth Bader Ginsburg embraced throughout her career.
A staunch warrior for women’s rights and civil rights, Justice Ginsburg was the co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU, where she began working on Supreme Court cases in the early 1970s. She collaborated on 34 cases that were heard before the Supreme Court, arguing six cases personally and winning five of the six. In 1993, she then became the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, serving 27 years, until the time of her death.
Justice Ginsburg will be remembered for her incalculable contributions to justice and for her deep commitment to service. We leave you with a call to action that she herself made:
“Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks, and that means don’t do just for yourself, because in the end it’s not going to be fully satisfying. I think you will want to leave the world a little better for your having lived. And there’s no satisfaction a person can gain from just what people call turning over a buck that’s equal to the satisfaction that you get from knowing that you have made another’s life, your community, a little better for your effort.”
Our hearts are with Justice Ginsburg’s family and friends during this difficult time.
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