Our civil liberties are continuously under attack by white male Republican lawmakers and a few white female lawmakers who are determined to drag the nation backwards to a time when women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ folks were second class citizens with limited rights and limited visibility. This time, instead of using their erroneous genetic arguments of inferiority as justification, they point to their religious beliefs coupled with a false historical narrative that this is a Christian nation. In fact, the opposite is true and is codified in the establishment clause of the Constitution which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Added to this, these white Republican lawmakers have embarked on efforts to erase the “uncomfortable” history of legal discrimination from classroom curriculum.
That said, I am almost certain that the major funding behind these efforts is coming from wealthy white supremacists and not necessarily from religious people, particularly Evangelical Christians or Christian Nationalists. I think the religious right are being used as an easily manipulated army of voters to hide the actual intentions of the few wealthy white supremacists who purchased Republican political puppets to work on their behalf to preserve and increase their personal wealth. They need the cogs of capitalism which depend on cheap labor, docile workers, benign regulations, and voracious consumers to continue to line their pockets at the expense of everyday people.
These few uber rich men have bought and paid for lawmakers to do their bidding. I guess money really is the root of all evil. These men have successfully orchestrated a culture war to keep the religious right voting for their political puppets. But in this war, real people are being demoralized and harmed and if the war is lost, many will be completely stripped of their freedoms, sense of safety, along with access to clean air and water. They are waging this culture war to activate the misguided whims, drummed up grievances, and fabricated fears of the uneducated white Christian voters they rely on to keep their lawmakers in power. They have convinced white Christian evangelicals and white nationalists that they will once again reign supreme over those “other” people who live differently, think differently, and express themselves differently than they do. They have unleashed the mean-spirit of once decent people who are now boldly racist, homophobic and misogynistic white folks who abhor words like woke, multiculturalism, diversity, inclusion, and equity.
So, what do we do? Deny Florida, the epicenter of these laws, our tourist dollars. In a more coordinated effort, I’d ask young progressives to remain in or move into gerrymandered districts to overcome the Republican strongholds there. I’m sure the rents are cheap and teaching jobs are abundant. Absent mass courage to infiltrate enemy strongholds, the first and most obvious thing we can do is vote in every election from now on and make sure that our families and friends are aware of the ballot issues before they vote, too. Second, we can support civil rights organizations and law firms that are overwhelmed by lawsuits to challenge the constitutionality of many of the laws being passed in red states. Third, we can support journalism by paying for a subscription to newspapers that do investigative journalism to enable them to uncover corruption beneath this war and to follow the money. Fourth, we can support the campaigns of decent candidates. Fifth, we can engage in peaceful protests, boycotts, give testimony, and write letters to petition our government. And sixth, if all else fails, we can engage in civil disobedience like Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks. Unlawful laws must be broken to be challenged in court so they can be found to be unlawful and overturned.
The laws that lack commonsense and fairness like gerrymandering, 6-week abortion bans, permit-free open carry gun laws, anti-trans laws, book-bans, anti-woke laws, don’t say “gay” laws, and the criminalization of teachers, doctors, and women, are ultimately meant to demoralize and silence the opposition. They seek complete control over the lives of progressives, but instead they will lose control over their own lives. In fact, they are already beginning to experience the results of their laws. In particular, the abortion bans are already having adverse effects on the lives of many-mostly poor people.
Women, no matter their Party, are already being prosecuted for abortions and “suspicious” miscarriages in red states. Babies are already being born dead because doctors are too afraid to abort fetuses that are not viable. More women will die from self-abortions, complications in pregnancy, and miscarriage. We will likely see a rise in the number of special needs babies that drain the medical system and later the school system if they survive. According to multiple news reports, OBGYN doctors are leaving red states and birthing centers are closing, creating OBGYN deserts. Not surprisingly, the number of men seeking vasectomies is also on the rise. In the coming years, red states will experience a greater number of children born into poverty or left as wards of the state. And that’s just because of abortion bans.
And who will teach the children? New reports indicate that teachers are fleeing positions in red states due to low pay and teaching restrictions. And these days they have to dodge bullets as well. Some are trying to arm teachers. The teaching shortage in Floria more than doubled over the last year and they are recruiting veterans with neither degrees nor credentials to teach. Really? The refusal of Republicans to do anything significant to curb gun violence has left us all vulnerable. Their answer to gun violence is more guns and ending permits to openly carry weapons in the streets. This, despite the fact that we have experienced more mass shooting in 2023 than we’ve had days of the year so far. The reason for this insane gun situation is clearly attributed to the large sums of money donated to Republican lawmakers by the gun lobby. However, at some point, commerce will suffer as people will be too afraid to leave their homes. Certainly, avoiding trips to permit free open-carry states like Floria that depend on tourism is an option. Personally, I’m boycotting Florida for now for this and a myriad of other ridiculous laws introduced by Governor DeSantis.
The Republicans are not offering freedom to everyone. They are offering culture wars, deregulation of environmental protections, more gun violence, voter suppression and the freedom to discriminate and to oppress the vulnerable among us. They do this to stay in power on behalf of wealthy white supremacists’ men. And it is up to all of us to stop them.