Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Lonely


That's what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said when she was asked how it felt being the only woman on the Supreme Court. In a recent email from Senator Boxer (as a former Californian, I am on her mailing list) she states that we all need to strongly encourage President Obama to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court.
I have heard some people say that gender does not matter(these people are mostly men, I have noticed). I disagree. Research shows that when there is a mix of men and women in a group, the decisions they make as a group are less extreme than when men are deciding alone.(Bill Bishop makes a similar argument in his book The Big Sort ) More women on the court would have made a difference when they made the completely wrong-headed decision in the case regarding the 13 year old girl who was strip searched in Junior High School. (I know how I would have felt if that had happened to me as a teenager. And if it had happened to my daughter I would have been down at the school with a flaming torch and a pitchfork. Allowing school authorities to strip search a child is creating a situation ripe for abuse.)
Women make up 51% of the population. It is reasonable to argue that we would all be better served if women made up 51% of the representation in the courts, in Congress and in local governments. If you would like to Join Senator Boxer in urging the President to appoint a woman, here is a link to send an email. Or send an email on your own by going to whitehouse.gov and expressing your opinion. Even if you disagree with me - it's important for your voice to be heard.
It is only by participating fully in our government that we keep it a government that is by the people and for the people. Fifty-one percent of those people are women.
As Abigail Adams argued, "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could."

3 comments:

Nancy K said...

God yes! We need more women judges period. I think that not only does this appointment need to be a woman but the next several until we get more parity. Of course, that will never happen! We need more women in Congress too. How about a few more women senators? On that front we should all donate to Emily's List which supports and encourages women running for office.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

Excellent point. Thank you. I got to hear Justice O'Connor speak shortly after she retired and she was extremely interesting.

Edna Mode said...

I definitely agree. Although I don't think the Strip Search case has been decided yet by the Supreme Court, it certainly looks as if the girl will lose. I was appalled when I heard that the male Justices didn't think it was such a big deal, it was "just like being in a locker room."