U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg remains one of the guardians against rabid conservatism on the nation’s highest court after President Donald Trump appointed not one but two justices to the bench. When she participated in the court’s newest term getting underway this week, she sported one of her signature collars that this time, featured a selection from a verse in the early parts of what’s known as the Old Testament. The creation of Jewish artist Marcy Epstein, the collar reads “Tzedek” along its edge, which means “justice” in Hebrew and evokes the often quoted verse:
‘Justice, justice you shall pursue’
It’s an amazing day when a simple statement in favor of “justice” can be seen as an affront against the sitting president of the United States, but here we are. Similar situations have unfolded when public figures have spoken about democracy this or integrity that — exemplifying just how off the rails the current White House occupant really is, these themes have felt poised to challenge Trump’s behavior.
Ginsburg was presented with the collar she wore this past Monday when the court’s term opened when she was awarded Moment Magazine’s Human Rights Award in September. At that time, she spoke about the importance of “tolerating, indeed appreciating, the differences among us” — another chance to perceive an affront against Trump. After all, he’s defined his time in office by inflaming differences, to put it lightly. Right now, he’s using billions of dollars worth of U.S. money to try and put a wall along the border with Mexico, besides trying over and over again to block various classes of migrants from legal protections.
Already this term, the Supreme Court has heard high-profile cases including three in which its decisions could make it illegal for employers to fire people because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, a practice that is still technically legal in enough states to have sparked these challenges to the practice. Cases were also slated to be heard covering the rights of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children (otherwise known as Dreamers) and abortion access, among other topics.
Ginsburg has sparred with Trump before — when he was first running for office, she made headlines when she called him a “faker” (and thereby captured the opinions of millions of Americans).
She shared:
‘He is a faker. He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego… How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.’
Trump at the time had responded to earlier complaints from the justice by suggesting Ginsburg’s mind was “shot” and she should resign. So says the guy who thinks wind turbines cause cancer, you have to show an ID to buy groceries, and has been documented to have lied more than 10,000 times since taking office — but has gotten to place two justices on the Supreme Court anyway.
Featured Image via screenshot
