If Justice Ginsburg, who had the most secular voting record of any justice since 1953, is replaced with a religious conservative like Justices Kavanaugh, Gorsuch or Thomas, the court’s jurisprudence will veer even farther from the values she brought to the law.
Do I worry about the worsening mental health of my patients and friends, as well as its effect on me? Yes. Has the timeline to prepare myself to better cope with that sped up? Yes. But I want them to know I will remain here, in their corner, ready to support them if and when they need me.
There are lots of kindly encomiums for persons of distinction: brilliant, wonderful, generous and so on. But it is a rare person who can be described as great. Dr. Danforth was such a person. He was great, truly great.
Who leads on election night, which may change as mail-in and challenged ballots are counted after Election Day, is surely to influence who considers the vote count to be accurate. This could get ugly. Just how ugly will be determined by the quality of election administration and the rhetoric of political leaders.
Neither reckoning nor healing will come from a drawn-out discussion behind closed doors. Healing starts with seeing these monuments as sites where both visible and invisible harms are actively perpetuated. If harm reduction and accountability are the goal, the statues should be removed immediately. This ought not be up for debate.
