Sweet Freedom's Song

as the debate over forced birth continues and as the campaigns for the upcoming midterm elections intensify, we see the dystopian future that awaits us in the country if republicans prevail at the state and national levels.  we have seen how the governor of florida has punished the largest employer in the state because the disney corporation has refused to kowtow to his wish to silence discussion of the existence of gay and trans humans in the public schools of florida.  after insiting that abortion is a matter that should be handled by each state and as it appears that the supreme court will rule that the constitution demands such a course of action, republicans at the national level are calling for a national prohibition on abortion.  the leader of the republican senate re-election campaign has called for all programs, such as social security, medicare, and medicaid, to be voted on every five years so that these programs would end if a republican majority were in control of the congress at that time.  a republican candidate for state office in michigan has said that democracy leads to socialism which in turn leads to communism, as he advocates for increasing restrictions on who has the right to vote in elections.

the idea that those who disagree with you ought to be punished and their voices silenced is antithetical to what our country stands for.  turning elections over to state legislatures rather than being conducted by impartial election officials makes it possible for legislators elected by a minority of the voters to reverse the will of a majority of the people of their state.  since many states now have electoral districts that were created so that the republican party will control the legislatures of those states, even when a majority of voters statewide oppose that party makes a mockery of democratic ideals.  we are faced with a choice between democracy and a religious tyranny where right-wing christians will dictate how everyone lives.  under a republican regime in washington and in a majority of state legislatures, dissent will not be tolerated.  laws that give conservative christians control over school curricula will proliferate.  books will be banned and burned.  years of progress in civil and women's rights will be reversed.  our country will cease to be one in which the ideals of freedom and tolerance are honored and strived for.  instead, a religious minority will exercise power over the majority of americans as voting rights are curtailed and courts, led by the supreme court, side with this minority.

may we turn from the path we are on.  may we refuse to be controlled by the religious right.  may we work to make room in our media and public debate for a variety of points-of-view.  may tolerance win over religious and racial bigotry.  may we not become so focused on our individual economic concerns that we ignore the danger posed by those who would make a mockery of democracy.  shalom.