Skip to main content

The End of the World as We Know It


Mostly I like to think of myself as calm and composed, at least this was what I was before Trump took office. Every day there’s something new to worry and seethe about, and I really don’t know how much more I can take. The current Supreme Court vacancy just might be that proverbial last straw.
I’m thankful that I’ve never had to make the choice to have an abortion, but I’m equally thankful to live in a country where it’s currently legal. If right-wing extremists have their way, that could easily change with a new composition of the Court. Of course, they seem focused on this being an isolated case, when it’s really not. Overturning Roe v. Wade will open up countless other supposedly decided issues, making this a very different and far less free country.
Roe v. Wade isn’t just about abortion, but about whether the government has the right to control what women are allowed to do with their own bodies. Think about that sentence for a few minutes. How many of you, regardless of your views on abortion or contraception, would want the government telling you what you can do with you body or your child’s? This case was not just about being able to terminate an unwanted pregnancy; it was about how someone chooses to live his or her life. If a government can say that you can’t have an abortion, they are in essence dictating how someone should live their life.
Many extremists think that the government interfering in a person’s life is fine and dandy, that is until it goes against their own views. That’s what they forget, that taking freedoms from one group will just make it easier for the government to take them away from others. I’m fairly certain that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, that Obergefell will be next, then open discrimination will be allowed, voting rights taken away, and on and on until we are no longer a democracy.
No I haven’t been watching The Handmaid’s Tale, but I know these people. If you give them an inch, they will take 10,000 miles. Their support of Trump shows how willing they are to sacrifice morality to succeed in what they believe is their end goal. They also seem to be fine with destroying everything to achieve this result.
I’ve already told my husband that we’re leaving this country if Roe v. Wade is overturned because I have no desire to wait for the end of the world to come. He nods his head; I’m sure hoping that this hell our country’s been thrust into ends soon. I have far more doubt. Even if the Democrats take back the House and the Senate, it could be too late.
So far I’m not doing anything too radical, but did finally go from just signing petitions and making donations to actually attending a demonstration. I’ve also been slowly, a little at a time, going through my way-too-many books, clothes, and other ephemera, getting rid of bits here and there. Perhaps it’s those small steps that help me feel like I’m doing something productive. I think I need to do more. We all need to do more before it’s too late.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Men

 I’m starting to enter the next stage of grief – anger . I ended up canceling my reservation for this morning’s Pilates class because the new instructor is a man. He may be a Harris supporter and an ally to woman, but I knew I’d wonder the entire time if perhaps he really wasn’t. If perhaps he was like my now dead father who registered to vote for the first time in 1984, not to support Reagan, but to vote against Geraldine Ferraro who was Mondale’s VP running mate.  My mother made light of the situation, but I knew as a teenager that it was a crappy thing for him to do. It was certainly not the worst thing he ever did, but I remember it the clearest. My father had four daughters, and, at that time, three granddaughters, yet he couldn’t stand to have a woman, even a far more competent woman, be allowed to serve at that level.  I’ve turned off the news and haven’t been reading the papers, so am missing ( not missing ) the chatter. My guess is that my fellow white women will...
Read more

IndyShorts

I was at IndyShorts last weekend, which was the second year Heartland Film Festival has provided a separate four-day venue for short films. It’s always hard to get back to real life after being away, but, for me, it seems especially hard after being at film festivals. Whether you’re a filmmaker or a film lover, the atmosphere at a film festival becomes contagious. At times I daydream about just going from one to another, constantly watching films that I might not get a chance to see otherwise (although with streaming that’s becoming less true). Of course, I know I’d get tired of the constant need to search for food I might actually be able to eat, and would miss my husband and cat, but for brief periods of the year, it’s not a bad time to spend away from home. I particularly like the set up of this festival with most of the films and programs taking place at Newfields , with beautiful grounds that are accessible to clear your head and move your body, ample ...
Read more

Pro-Death

  I grew up in an evangelical church, and as soon as I could escape it, I did. I remember my mother talking longingly about the mansion she would have in heaven and, even at a young age, I felt uncomfortable hearing her talk about her life when she would be dead. It was as though she’d given up on anything good happening in this world, and only had the next life to look forward to. If you read the recent rulings from the Supreme Court it’s as if they’ve given up on anything good happening in this world too, but also are trying to hasten us all, in one way or another, to the “next world.” If the baby that you shouldn’t be carrying doesn’t kill you then the guns that they made even easier to get, and easier to carry around, will. Or if neither of those situations do you in, then tying the hands of the EPA to reign in pollution and other hazardous-to-our-health chemicals will. One of my own coping mechanisms may have some similarities – dreaming of living in another, better, count...
Read more