Politics Plus

My apologies for not posting a Sound Off! in a while, but I have been on a cross-country road trip and attended a national convention. Between the two I had scant time to work on my essays.

What the actual f—- is wrong with the United States of America? More specifically, what the actual f—- is wrong with its Supreme Court?

Currently we have the worst Supreme Court ever. In a matter of days the (in)justices stripped women of the right to control their bodies, while hiding behind the stalking-horse of protecting human life; undid sensible gun safety regulation, in the name of kowtowing to the gun nuts; destroyed the vital wall of separation between church  and state by allowing coach-led prayer at public schools and approving vouchers that will go to faith-based institutions; and effectively gutted the EPA. In other words, f—- women, f—- religious freedom, f—- the environment, and f—- anybody who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when some Froot Loop with a gun starts shooting.

Days after the SCOTUS’ string of disastrous decisions, a lunatic marred 4th of July celebrations in Highland, IL by firing on a crowd gathered for a parade, killing seven and wounding two dozen. One doctor described the victims as having “wartime injuries.” Sadly, few things are quite as all-American as a bloody mass shooting. There have been well over 300 in the United States so far in 2022, but of course only the deadliest, or those most shocking because of their location, make national news.

Our country was founded on some great ideas, such as freedom of religion, which includes keeping state and church separate. The Founding Fathers were all too aware of what happens when religion and politics get entangled together. One need but look at many Middle Eastern nations today, or at Europe before the Renaissance. Witch hunts, inquisitions, oppression of religious and ethnic minorities and women, obstructing scientific and ethical progress – all are characteristics of a theocracy. And even being of the “right” religion does not guarantee freedom from persecution if you are of the “wrong” sect. Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims duke it out continually, while Catholics and various Protestant sects have persecuted each other in the past. Even some Protestant denominations have harassed other Protestants.

Religion and politics make for a toxic mix. Now that public school staff are allowed to proselytize (Kennedy v Bremerton), and public money will go to Christian schools in Maine (Carson v Makin), you can bet your bottom dollar that more of the camel is going to slither into the tent. We didn’t act fast or vigorously enough when just the nose was in the tent, and now the entire head is within. And since the SCOTUS does not properly represent the religious make-up of the USA, it will continue to destroy everything that this country is supposed to represent and protect.

Overturning Roe v Wade made the anti-choice hordes howl in evil delight. What these narrow-minded chumps don’t realize – or care about – is that the anti-abortion laws they have demanded will do far more harm than good. It has opened up an enormous can of slimy, filthy worms. In Texas, a pregnant woman claimed that her fetus counted as a person so she could use the HOV lane. Already women are being arrested for suffering miscarriages. Also, what if a woman is suffering an ectopic pregnancy, which is not, repeat, NOT viable? If you think there is some magical way to transplant an ectopic embryo into a uterus and have it become a viable fetus, you probably think that the Moon is made of green cheese and tRump won the 2020 election by a landslide.

One excuse given for overturning Roe v Wade is that abortion isn’t explicitly protected in the U. S. Constitution. Wanna know something else that is not in the Constitution? The filibuster. According to that logic, we should abolish the filibuster. Then maybe Biden and the Democrats will be able to get something done and save the U.S. from certain doom.

Siding with polluting Big Business by declaring that federal environmental regulators cannot take the dramatic action necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was unforgivable. This decision will make it impossible for this country to take the drastic steps necessary to curb the effects of climate change and protect the public from climate-related disasters. The six in-justices have now made it almost impossible for the US to meet Biden’s environmental goals. Big Coal and Big Oil have won, and the Little Guy and Gal have lost.

Instead of red, white and blue I wore black and green on the 4th, my subtle protest against the direction this country has taken. I worry about what will come next, if Democrats do not maintain their control of the House and win enough seats in the Senate so the Republican’ts lack the numbers necessary to filibuster any legislation they don’t like. The GOP no longer cares about this country and its residents, only party politics. Unfortunately, the same can be said of a lot of Democrats. The party of the left is full of DINOs who are elephants in donkey’s clothing, and Dumb-ocrats who lack spines and think that compromise always works. Anybody who believes that making nice-sounding agreements with The Enemy has never heard of Neville Chamberlain. In a previous essay, I pointed out that Democrats need to stop being marshmallows and start being tough cookies. Now more than ever they need to “grow a pair” collectively and individually.

We have one final chance to save our country, to stop the slide into religious fascism. We need to get out the Progressive vote this November. We need to do more than “vote blue no matter who” – we need to back Democrats who are fighters, who actually give a rat’s derriere about this country, who will listen to John and Jane Q. Public. Because if we can’t make real change at the ballot box – what follows will be ugly. Very ugly.