Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quotes 10 Inspirational Sayings From The 'Notorious RBG' On Her 84th Birthday

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court justice, feminist icon and the face behind the internet’s “Notorious RBG,” will celebrate her 84th birthday Wednesday. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Ginsburg has served on the Supreme Court for more than 20 years. Here are some of Ginsburg’s most inspirational words on women, America and the fight for what’s right.

1. “America is known as a country that welcomes people to its shores. All kinds of people. The image of the Statue of Liberty with Emma Lazarus’ famous poem. She lifts her lamp and welcomes people to the golden shore where they will not experience prejudice because of the color of their skin, the religious faith that they follow.”

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2. “Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.”

3. “That’s the dissenter’s hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.”

4. “You can’t have it all, all at once. Who — man or woman — has it all, all at once? Over my lifespan, I think I have had it all. But in different periods of time, things were rough. And if you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it.”

5. “Well, my grandchildren love it, and I try to keep abreast of what’s on the Tumblr.”

6. “My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady and the other was to be independent, and the law was something most unusual for those times because for most girls growing up in the ‘40s, the most important degree was not your B.A. but your M.R.S.”

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7. “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

8. “We should not be held back from pursuing our full talents, from contributing what we could contribute to the society because we fit into a certain mold, because we belong to a group that historically has been the object of discrimination.”

9. “You can disagree without being disagreeable.”

10. “When I’m sometimes asked when there will be enough [women on the Supreme Court]? And I say, ‘When there are nine.’ People are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”