Yesterday was a bad day. I believe future history books(1) will show 24 Jun 2022 as the day America finally died. The dream is dead. A government of, by and for the People has been replaced by a religious oligarchy(2), using illegal tactics, coercion, lies and propaganda to stack the highest court in the land.
And guess what? When it *is* the highest court in the land, to whom do you appeal? To no one. That’s it.
America was founded for Religious Freedom and Personal Freedom. That was shot down yesterday. “Freedom” is not what your most vocal neighbors scream that it is. It is what you think it is for you. Nothing else.(But also watch that you don’t infringe some one else’s rights. That’s the balancing act… that’s why checks and balances are critical, and why tampering with those checks and balances [as has been done] is so very, very bad.)
Having your rights defined by some one else’s religion is also not religious freedom. It becomes the State Sponsored religion, and we might as well go back to the Dark Ages and the Inquisition, or forward to A Handmaid’s Tale. Ugly, antithetical to freedom, and — mostly — ridiculous.
First thing, the Supreme declared that New York does not have the right to restrict the carrying of fire arms outside the home. In the wake of massive shootings, run away paranoia and no psychological screening before acquiring a hand gun or rifle, the Supreme Court says, “yeah! More shootings! More! More! Go!!” Well… alright, they said New York’s law was “unconstitutional.” It’s not. Well… ok. It *is* according to the prevalent interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. But that interpretation is both simplistic and self-serving. In other words, that’s not quite what the 2nd Amendment says.(3)
There are many times many ways to misinterpret and/or misunderstand any printed material. Even spoken statements are easily misconstrued. Language: it *almost* works.
I’m not a fan of guns. Guns have one purpose and one only. On the other hand, I am DEFINITELY not a fan of a government telling what I can not do.
The other death knell for America, from the same Supreme Court, was to strike down Roe v. Wade.
I won’t spend a lot of time here on the basic argument; almost everyone has a stand on this already and “facts” would be wasted at best; that is, my “facts” might be your belly laugh. That’s fine, but consider these items:
1. The Supreme Court and all the Congressmen and Senators and religious pundits that for years have been working toward this moment have just killed 10s of thousands of women (over the next decade) — if what Texas has been doing is any example of what the other 49 states might now enthusiastically jump all over.
2. By extension, this makes Rape legal. Bit of a stretch, but only a bit. If a baby-conceived in rape can not be terminated, then the baby is legally sanctioned beyond the rights or authority of the woman, therefore the act that created the baby is also legally sanctioned. Is the penalty for rape nothing more than child support now? (Assuming the “perp” can even located, that is.)
Looking more like something out of Judge Dredd, police prepare to “handle” protestors after the Supreme Court knocked back safe guards on Human Rights yesterday. (yeah, that’s inflammatory wording… very inflammatory! So is most of what passes for news these days.)
3. Women are now property in any state that cares to walk through that door. For example: in Texas, even if a woman’s life is in danger, abortion is illegal. The state, therefore, has turned women in chattel(4). So, let’s go all the way; why not repeal the 17th amendment now? (Women’s right to vote.) Why not make it illegal (as in “it’s pointless anyway since their purpose is only to raise children”) for a woman to hold a high degree, masters or PhD, say? Women doctors? Good heavens! Don’t make me laugh. Why not pass a law saying women are not even people, they really are simply there to raise the next generation of Men? Go on. I dare you!! But that *is* the logical extension of what just happened and the “logic of that position.” (5)
For a wanna-be world dictator, this attitude isn’t all that surprising, is it? In a major nation whose byline has always been “freedom” it’s a little disturbing, though.
4. If women are chattel, then they require ownership and support for life. (By the definition of chattel.) Probably provided by a husband, or by a Slave Master or by the State (your tax dollars supporting the local baby machines). Take your pick. Better yet, why not take all three options?
5. Did you know the Bible sanctions — at times even requires — a man having multiple wives?
6. What’s the next “logical” step for these same people (if they are people and not Aliens trying to get the dominate infestation on the planet to just kill itself off) to take? Make all contraception illegal, of course. That won’t stop contraception, but it will drive it underground and make it more dangerous (which is all making anything illegal ever accomplishes). You’ll make condoms and abortions into a major black market commodity. How ridiculous is that?
7. In making contraception finally illegal, there will be a serious explosion in teen pregnancies. All the rhetoric you want to shout can not turn off the basic elements of biology, the God-given drives we all experience, like it or not.
8. Does no one in “authority” (or in the Right Wing) recognize the meaning of a world population of [nearly] 8 billion? This is hardly the time to be creating a population explosion, even a small one (as in America only), plus the additional absurdity of doing so just as America’s economy is tanking for the 2nd time this century.
9. And, as I sort of said already, death during childbirth will increase. How unforgivably primitive.
10. Also, how in violation of every doctor’s oath. You know, do no harm? Harm can be done by action and also by inaction. Do no harm, doctors, means you can NOT allow ectopic pregnancies (for example) which can only kill both mother and baby. Just one example. Which is the higher Ethic: your oath and some statute crafted by non-medical professionals?
11. Finally, I’d put money down that a lot of woman were made pregnant last night, not necessarily with their active cooperation either, because “those sorts of men” (many more than you’d want to believe) now feel (by extension) that they have the right to do so any time that “God wills it.” Like when a serious womanizer was promoted to the Presidency a few years ago, the incidence of domestic abuse and workplace sexual harassment more than doubled literally over night. It’s the “Oh! I have permission now!” syndrome. Refer back to item 2 above.
A random question, almost beside the point: why is it that so many of the “Right to Lifers” are also so much in favor or War and of Capitol Punishment? War is murder, but that’s ok (somehow). Execution is murder(6), and that’s ok. Abortion is murder, and that’s not ok. I’m missing something in the logic.(7)(8)
Oh h-e-double-toothpicks, as they say.
Here’s my real, total conundrum concerning yesterday. One, we strike down a law restricting the right to carry fire arms in New York. Then, secondly, we “piss off” more than half the nation with a patent absurdity and the reduction of “people” to “chattel” which all by itself has been known to spark the over throw of governments. Really now: is some one trying to start the 2nd American Revolution?
So bye, bye Miss American Pie…
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(1) Assuming two things: the Human Race *has* a future, and the future Humans are literate enough to write history books.
(2) Religious Oligarchy… that is a very small group of people or extreme religious passion who have been working since the 80s to establish America as a “Christian” nation from the top down. I put Christian in quotes here because most of what the American extreme Right apparently believes simply is not in the Book they claim their Authority derives from. Not the way they believe it. My message to those folks: Read The Book! Read it for yourself. Read it with fresh eyes. And while you’re at it, do the same with the Constitution of the United States. READ IT and Understand it for yourself. Not what you’ve been told it says. Find out first hand what it actually says according to your own understandings.
(3) Explaining that is beyond scope of this posting. Perhaps I’ll give my understanding of that amendment in another posting, and maybe not. If you’re curious, read it! READ IT! Read all of it. Not just the “therefore” clause. The entire statement must be accounted for. So here’s the questions that must be answered (and it’s subject to opinion!): where *is* the well armed militia that it cites? Who makes up this militia? Secondly: against whom is this “well armed militia” to protect the citizenry from today? [I haven’t seen any “Red Coats” in quite some time… ya know? So who is the enemy now that might come waltzing down the road from the next county aways yonder?] Answer these questions — not as you might think I want you to answer them, but answer them fully and in Truth for yourself. Ultimately that’s all the Truth there is: your own Inner Vision, your own Conscience, your own Understanding.
(4) Chattel — that is, slaves or property. See the 13th Amendment: that’s illegal by the same Law of the Land that was just used to chop down Roe v Wade. Did the attorneys not bring up this aspect of striking down Roe v Wade? Or did the [so-called] judges simply ignore the legal ramifications? Flip a coin…
(5) Calling that stance a “position” may be dignifying it unduly. A position is usually something that is well thought out and logically defensible. Go ahead. Defend this logically. I dare you!
(6) The “eye for an eye” argument doesn’t hold up under close examination. For example, ultimately, some one kills the condemned: throws a switch, sets a timer, pulls a trigger, opens a trap door, etc. Does he not now have to be “eye for eye’d” also? Just one problem with the simplistic logic of “eye for eye.” I prefer “let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” But that’s just me and that probably just clutters this posting… oh well.) [or was that sarcasm? Geez…]
(7) Perhaps also in the definition of “murder.”
(8) Yes, I know. My problem (among other things) is that I pine for consistency in Human Action in a world that has made a religion of conflicted interests. One can hope, though, yes?