How could a very liberal, Jewish feminist and an
arch-conservative, Roman Catholic traditionalist be best buddies for the past
30 years? Here are some lessons from the Supreme Court’s oddest couple.
● Ginsburg’s health problems were well known. She is a
cancer survivor. Less well known, Scalia’s doctors report his heart was too
weak for shoulder surgery to relieve pain. They probably shared private details
of their aging and illnesses, and drew strength from each other.
● Ginsburg often wrote dissenting opinions to Scalia’s
majority opinions, but privately he shared advance copies of his work so that
she could strengthen her arguments—often at the expense of exposing Scalia as
an unkindly (to put it mildly) justice.
● They lived life to the fullest—and shared vacations.
Ginsburg went parasailing in Europe, while Scalia watched, below in fear that his friend would blow away. Before Scalia died, he completed a ten day
trip to Asia and went to Texas on hunting trip—hardly the picture of an
overweight, pain-stricken man with a serious heart condition nearing his 80th birthday.
The best lesson we can learn from this odd but committed
relationship: Don’t demonize people just because you strongly disagree with
them. Share a meal; your work; your leisure time— and your compassion for each
other.
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