If you are an American citizen, you have a right to vote. That is what our Constitution says, and it is not open for debate if our democracy is to have any real meaning or structure. The current antics of republican legislatures across our country are an attempt of a minority to maintain power, and nothing more. To disenfranchise any voter goes against the very premise of the Constitution and cannot be allowed. The ultimate goal of a democracy is to achieve true equality, and takes time to become clearly established. The reality is that we have come so far and are doing quite well. The question we face today is whether we want to acknowledge this and move forward, or do we want to go backward. I believe that the majority of Americans have already decided that the former is the way to go. It is important, however, for us to continue to stand up for ourselves and recognize that a few men have no right to tell us who we are and whether we are valuable as a human being, or an American citizen. The recent and ongoing attempts of various Republican legislatures to make the opportunity to vote more difficult will most assuredly end up in the Supreme Court, where the final decision of our right to vote will be clearly established once and for all. At least the opportunity will be presented to the Supreme Court to correct the decision they made just several years ago. There is every hope, that this time, our nation’s highest court will realize that the removal of an individual’s right to vote would clearly infringe upon their individual rights eventually as well. Although the intent of our Constitution is for states to have more rights than federally mandated statutes, we are all American citizens first. The right to vote is a federal law and not up to each state to decide. The members of the Republican Party, and the men and women that comprise our Supreme Court, are not exempt from having their individual rights removed either, so let’s make the right decision this time.
Ultimately, the attempt to move away from the establishment of equality will fail because of the universal mandate of freedom that goes far beyond any individual’s sense of what our purpose is. The reality of the creative and powerful human spirit will prevail in the end. We must never forget that. To place this simple truth at the forefront of our minds and hearts will assure our success, but we must not take it for granted. Each of us must realize how it feels to be oppressed and the unfortunate living conditions it creates. Let’s not forget that oppression is equally uncomfortable and undesirable for all of us. Love is all-inclusive by its very nature. If one of us or any particular group of us suffers, we all suffer. We have been presented with an opportunity to allow this loving understanding help us move forward together. Before we end our discussion today, let’s consider a couple of thoughts on two other important issues. We certainly do have a lot on our plate!
The Senate Filibuster
It is time, if the United States is truly a democracy, for our government to be a reflection of the will of its people. We have unfortunately been living in a country where the will of the people is constantly overridden by government representatives with their own self-interest in mind. As we have discussed many times, this always centers around money and power. The Senate Filibuster is quite frankly a tool for a minority party to stay in power. It is an arcane rule that must be abandoned because it does not represent the majority. I don’t think it would be wise to attempt to redefine what the word majority actually means. We all know that a majority means over 50%, that is a simple fact. 51%, although a slim majority, is still a majority. The party in power gets to make the decisions for the country because we said so with our vote. Although it is important to always consider how decisions made today impact our future, we must also realize that sometimes the present moment is all we really have. Honestly, most of us are aware that we cannot make plans a couple of weeks to a month ahead of time these days, much less two to four years. Things are changing so rapidly that we cannot allow ourselves to miss the opportunities right in front of us. It may be wise for the Biden Administration and the democrats in Congress to relegate the Senate Filibuster to the past, so they are able to make decisions today. I personally believe that the opportunity we have right now to improve the life conditions of the American people is too great to pass up. We’ll have to see what happens.
Gun Violence
It seems like every time we have an opportunity to change gun laws, there is a string of these horrific mass shootings. My God, how many more children and our fellow human beings have to die for us to take action? Maybe these mass killings are presented to us because we need to realize that something needs to change! It is very true that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, but shouldn’t we do absolutely everything we can to avoid these tragedies? Even if we took some very basic common-sense measures to save one human life, wouldn’t it be worth it? I would like to point out to all gun owners that falsely believe their individual rights are being taken from them, that the democrats in Congress are never going to eliminate the right of every person to protect themselves, no matter what the republicans or the NRA tell them. That is never going to happen. Please understand that you are being manipulated, and you can choose to put a stop to it. The only thing being created by the status quo of the gun lobby is that the gun manufacturers and the NRA make lots of money and the Republicans stay in power. What do we get in return? We certainly don’t get any money out of the deal, but we certainly get a lot of violence and death. There are more guns currently existing in the United States than people. Is this who we are? The United States has more deaths due to gun violence than any other country in western civilization. There is clearly something wrong. There are many factors to consider with this opportunity to establish some appropriate gun legislation, but removing your right to protect your life and the life of your family is not one of them. That has never been up to negotiation. One simple sacrifice we can make is to outlaw military-style weapons. Should a person be able to own one? The answer is another question – why do you want one? Sometimes individual rights need to be sacrificed for the greater whole. We all have a very basic right to feel safe walking on our streets and just going about our lives. Our efforts to correct this very serious problem may indeed be a “band-aid approach” initially, but we have to begin somewhere. It will certainly provide us with the time needed to heal the underlying causes of these tragic events.
All my love and support, stay safe and be well