Ruth Bader Ginsburg quotes ‘Scalia/Ginsburg’ to Gloria Steinem in The New York Times

Ruth Bader Ginsburg quotes ‘Scalia/Ginsburg’ to Gloria Steinem in a discussion with The New York Times:

Philip Galanes: Last subject: You are both bridge builders. Justice Ginsburg on the court; and Gloria, with a sea of men and women over the years. Any advice for getting along with people who disagree with us to the core — like Justice Scalia?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Last night, my daughter and I got a prize from a women’s intellectual property group, and Nino [Scalia] was in the video, saying his nice things about me. He’s a very funny man. We both love opera. And we care about writing. His style is spicy, but we care about how we say it.

Gloria Steinem: I think Ruth is better at getting along with people with whom we profoundly disagree. I feel invisible in their presence because I’m being treated as invisible. But what we want in the future will only happen if we do it every day. So, kindness matters enormously. And empathy. Finding some point of connection.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Sometimes not listening helps, too. Do you know about this opera “Scalia/Ginsburg” by a talented musician who went to law school? Scalia’s opening aria is: “The Justices are blind. How can they possibly spout this? The Constitution says nothing about this.” And I answer: “You are searching in vain for a bright-line solution for a problem that isn’t so easy to solve. But the beautiful thing about our Constitution is that, like our society, it can evolve.” Then she goes into a jazzy part. Let it grow.

Read the full article here.

[In print: Sunday, November 15, 2015, on page ST1 of the New York edition with the headline: The Fights of Their Lives.]