Until recently, I was not aware that some here are "not admirers" of the late Ruth Bader Ginzburg.

[Sympthsical]

10. One single great mistake can undo a lot of goodwill

Think of someone who grows up, works hard, succeeds in life and becomes a doctor. They save lives, are admired by the community, and contribute a great deal.

Then at a Christmas party, they have one or two too many, get behind the wheel, and accidentally kill a family.

One mistake can be all it takes to upend a lifetime spent doing good works. It can be what tarnishes a legacy.

RBG was an amazing woman. She had a brilliant mind, broke a lot of barriers, and could have left a legacy for the ages.

She rolled the dice, with her health and with an American electorate that can literally do anything at any given time. She lost. Saying, "She wanted the first female POTUS to select her successor," isn't a good excuse. That's vanity. President Obama himself understood the risks and was trying to influence her to retire.

Politics are never ever a guaranteed thing. Everyone did not know that a Republican couldn't win in 2016 - even factoring for Trump. I kept telling many people it was easily possible and that I didn't like how things were shaping up. Plenty of other people did, too. That some quarters decided they didn't want to listen is neither here nor there. ("Thanks for your concern!" and "We don't need you" and "It's in the bag" are phrases that should never be uttered for the rest of time by some people).

It's unfortunate. It doesn't diminish RBG's accomplishments. No one can take those accomplishments away from her. She deserves to be admired for all she achieved in her life.

However. When assessing what her legacy is, that refusal to retire knowing the unpredictability of elections and her own health issues will be a giant black asterisk next to it. People may not like that, but it is what it is. She made her choices.