When Roe was decided in 1073, I was 14 and had just “become a woman,” whatever that meant to a young girl who didn’t even like boys yet. Well, I liked them to hang out with, play ghost-man softball games, build sandcastles and beat at ping pong (and Algebra). But dating was a far-off thing.
As an adult, my political philosophies started to gel, based on knowledge learned at home, school and, yes, Mass. There are certain things that need to be regulated by the government, such as rape, murder and thievery are bad. Sometimes there is a need to support equal opportunity/human and civil rights, and perhaps ban civilian purchase of assault weapons.
And then there are moral questions where as far as I’m concerned, live your life as you see fit, but don’t force everyone else to fit in your mold. I fear that’s what this faux-“Christian” nationalism, a pseudo-theocracy based on assuring permanent ruling of our realm by rich white men, is attempting to assert.
This is not a debate about abortion at all. If one looks at the goals, they are to do as Arizona just did this week, go back to the ’60’s, the 1860’s.
Supreme Court Justices Alito and Thomas already asked for cases to strike down the right to same-sex marriage and even contraception. The far “religious” right adds in the end of no-fault divorce and laws that prohibit a pregnant woman from getting a divorce at all, and these mysogynistic men have us right where they want us. Back in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, probably having lost the right to vote and work outside the home, and unable to get a proper education because there are only expensive all-male religious schools (public schools have been stripped of funding). And there are no more libraries where we could borrow books to gain knowledge because they’re not allowed to let us have any book the Book Nazis had deemed inappropriate.
Think about what the 2024 election means to this nation which has survived nearly 250 years until one man came along and tried to mess with everything its citizens hold dear. I’m not afraid of Donald Trump. All he can do is audit me or throw me in jail. And that’s only if we’re dumb enough to give him the keys to the White House for a second stab at ending democracy.
The rich men who are now kissing the flashy gold ring don’t know that if there’s a scintilla of disloyalty, say an ancient email, found by the new Goon Squad you’ll lose your business and reputation and all your money. Donald Trump doesn’t care who you are or that you gave to his campaign or bailed him out of jail. Are you willing to lose everything, including our democracy, for a few more years of big tax breaks? Know that Donald Trump cares for no-one but himself. Anyone who thought Covid was nothing because it would only infect the “blue states” is not presidential material.
And if you don’t care about that, what about our daughters? Thanks to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, they already have fewer rights than I did when I got my first period in 1973. Republican elected officials are saying it’s “no big deal” for a woman to get on a bus and travel to another state to pursue needed medical care. They would never say that to a man. Hey, dude, can’t get your ED pills in your state? Hop on a bus for 14 hours two states away to get a few. It’s not an inconvenience at all. Quit yer bellyachin’.
These men are trying to disenfranchise people because of color, religion, and nation of origin. They’re now disenfranchising 1/2 of the population, women. And we keep electing them! Why? Frankly, I’d rather pay taxes and have that money used to further democracy here and abroad, feed the hungry, house the homeless, run free and fair elections and provide incentives for individuals to start businesses that help us all.
I don’t want to be a second-class citizen. We must not let fear get in the way of making our opinions known in our families, communities and at the polls. We worked hard to get where we are. We deserve the choice to live our lives and care for our bodies as we see fit. Think about it, and whatever you do, please VOTE! Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 