My world is in the process of being turned upside down now. With the Supreme Court turning its back on precedent and tradition so they can overturn a woman’s right to abortion, it opens the floodgates to losing many other rights. Among them are interracial marriage, same sex marriage, the repeal of sodomy laws, and even public education. The land of the free and the home of the brave will become the land of Christian apartheid. The evangelicals will have a stranglehold on our society and none of us will be free.
Just a week ago, this kind of thing would sound very farfetched. If someone had said something like this, they’d say it’s just hyperbole or that it could never happen here. Turns out that the 3 super conservative justices Trump forced through to the highest court along with two others from conservative presidents are taking it upon themselves to right the perceived wrongs in our country. It’s starting with a leaked preliminary ruling on overturning the historic Roe vs. Wade case that ensured the right to abortion care for all women.
Justice Alito mentioned in his ruling that these cases were also wrongly decided:
- Loving vs. Virginia (1967) – Ensured the right of interracial couples to marry.
- Planned Parenthood vs. Casey (1992) – Ruled minors do not need the consent of a parent before getting an abortion.
- Lawrence vs. Texas (2003) – Ruled sodomy laws violated the right to privacy.
- Obergefell vs. Hodges (2015) – Ensured the right to same sex couples to marry.
All of these cases hinge on equal protection and the right to privacy. If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, these cases are in mortal danger of being overturned, too. Not only that, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants to re-try the Plyler vs. Doe (1982) that gave the right to a free public education to all children regardless of sex, race, religion, disability, or citizenship status. If the court is willing to turn its back on precedent, they will have a full docket undoing all of the progress society has made toward equality over the past 100 years. We could even see Brown vs. the Board of Education overturned ushering in a new era of segregation. We could see an end to civil rights as we know them.
Our democracy and nation are in mortal danger. We are at a precipice and if we lose our footing, the United States of America will no longer be the land of freedom; it will become a land of oppression. We had a sitting president say the free press was the enemy of the people. The Republican party launched their own media outlets to spread disinformation and propaganda to their base. They hinder the free press from shining a light on truth to ensure accountability. They attack schools and education in general. They refer to the truth as “fake news” and propaganda as “alternative facts”.
The Republican base, who prides themselves on being patriotic and noble shrug their shoulders at grievous breeches of ethics. It’s okay for their politicians to extort or blackmail foreign governments for dirt on political opponents. It’s okay to try to coerce election officials to “find more votes”. It was even okay to attempt a coup to disrupt and prevent the peaceful transfer or power after the people spoke in an election. We are headed toward a one-party system where there is no opposition voice. Rights for the few and none for the majority.
America needs to wake up and fight for human rights and decency.
