One thing that makes me really proud to be a conservative is our ability to extend kindness and compassion to those across the aisle during tragedy, and give credit where credit is due. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an inspiration for women…ALL women. That means conservatives too! Let me explain why:

RBG went to Harvard Law School in 1957, and she was one of just NINE female undergraduates in a group of 500 men. It was at Harvard that she met her husband Martin, who was diagnosed with cancer as a student. This is incredible-while he underwent chemotheraphy she kept going to not only her classes, but HIS as well. And she did all of that while raising their daughter Jane. Martin and Ruth ended up having an incredible love story that went on for more than 50 years.

RBG was a true feminist when women did NOT have equal rights in America. It’s because of her that women can no longer be discriminated against in hiring processes at work just because of their gender.

She knew how to be a good friend, and didn’t let a difference in political opinion stop her from having rewarding and beautiful friendships. She famously defended fellow conservative colleagues Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch by saying, “I can say that my two newest colleagues are very decent and very smart individuals.”

Her relationship with the late Justice Scalia was so fascinating to the American public that it was the inspiration for a comic Opera called, ‘Scalia/Ginsburg,’ which they were probably tickled over since a love of Opera was something they bonded over. They became friends in the 1980s and famously rode an elephant in India together with Scalia in front to distribute the weight evenly.

Scalia once said, “If you can’t disagree ardently with your colleagues about some issues of law and yet personally still be friends, get another job, for Pete’s sake,” and Ruth had equally kind things to say with, “As annoyed as you might be about his zinging dissent, he’s so utterly charming, so amusing, so sometimes outrageous, you can’t help but say, ‘I’m glad that he’s my friend or he’s my colleague,’” according to The Washington Post.

Even though RBG was a hardcore liberal through and through, there was so much to admire her for. That’s something that we can certainly relate to.

Rest In Peace, Ruth.