Prepping for the holiday weekend at the grocery store, I saw all the red, white and blue napkins, plates, and wrapped chocolates. Being festive is fun, but this year I could not bring myself to celebrate Independence Day as we have in the past. As a woman, I am beginning to feel less independent as the Supreme Court is slowly chipping away at my rights.
When Jefferson wrote, “all men are created equal,” he did not mean women or enslaved people. Turning back a fifty-year-old law about the right to choose essentially ensures that women are now limited to living their full lives. Getting pregnant takes two people. Only one person bears the brunt of pregnancy; if the man walks, the woman bears it all. Not the state, not the church, not the community, just one woman.
The freedom of guns is taking us back to the wild wild west. I have been looking for that musket on eBay. If the coach who prayed with his football team before the game was a rabbi or a Muslim, I can guarantee the Supreme Court would not rule in their favor. Does the Supreme Court care about the environment and trust that corporations will do the right thing? The Supreme Court is why people with deep pockets can determine elections. Nothing good here.
All that has happened in the past few weeks has made my faith in our Government wane. I can’t bring myself to watch fireworks and celebrate Independence Day and our country. I can’t celebrate this year, and it is unclear if I will be able to celebrate next year.
I am still struggling. I am grappling. I am feeling very un-American.