Dear Justice Sandra Day O’Connor:
A super belated thank-you for sharing your personal news two years ago. The letter you wrote to “Friends and fellow Americans” on October 23rd, 2018 made a real mark on my psyche. The third line specifically, “As this condition has progressed, I am no longer able to participate in public life” is one I’d never read or heard before. And the condition your letter describes is “the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease.”
According to your biographer Evan Thomas, you had signs of Alzheimer’s as early as 2013, only four years after losing your husband to the same disease. And according to your sons, you currently reside in an assisted living facility in Phoenix.
To be completely candid, I think there are some people who may forget you’re still with us. (There ought to be a word for this collective amnesia.) Remarkably though, while you may be out of the spotlight, your presence still looms large.
Think about it: the forever impeached president recently told supporters in North Carolina, “I will never speak to you again, you’ll never see me again,” referring to a potential loss to Joe Biden. Showing his sharpness, Trump’s challenger quickly shared the clip and announced, “I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message.” Seconded and all in favor. Thank you for sharing.
Seriously, what we’d all give for Trump to write (or plagiarize), say, a resignation letter, then tweet it out as an executive order, affix his criminally insane signature, and go to jail, go directly to jail. If it comes down to solitary confinement, at least he won’t be a super spreader anymore. Thank you for not sharing COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the reptilian majority leader is steamrolling a slippery nominee to the brink of lifelong power. Ironically, Amy Coney Barrett appears to be a happy human clone of Antonin Scalia. But who’s going to tell her? Life begins at 50.
And Bush v. Gore still stinks. Maybe the Court relied on it to end the 2020 Census count last week, who knows? In any case, the damage lingers. Election Day and Groundhog Day should always keep a safe distance.
The most prescient part of your swan song is the part detailing iCivics (www.icivics.org), the civic education experience more than 7.5 million students enjoy in all 50 states. Clearly, you consider this “your most important work and greatest legacy.”
Honestly, thank you for sharing. I pray the young people who’ve benefitted from your vision are among the many Americans who restore democracy.
